Hazard Reduction in Sydney

Took part in a hazard reduction (backburning) today in the northern suburbs of Sydney.  Very exciting.  Hadn't been to an HR before. 

I was really impressed with the professionalism of the volunteer firefighters.  A lot of planning goes into these HRs ... from community consultation to the technical requirements of hose and hamper.

The seasonal fire cranes ("Elvis") have not arrived yet from faraway places, such as the Olympic fires in Greece and California (where they are still in real action), so we made do with a local "firebird", a Bell 407 for the aerial ignition, which basically involves dropping ping-pong balls of fuel with an ignition spike onto the target fireground.  A job of precision, particularly in rugged country laced with power lines.

This is very dangerous, rugged country, with steep slopes, rocky outcrops and long drops for the hoses down to the creeks.  Apart from the obvious physical danger to the firefighters, the other objective is to secure the safety of the nearby built-up areas of homes and property.