The development of aerial firefighting and forestry in southern Australia ran in parallel with the rapid improvements in aircraft technology over the last century. As more advanced and capable aircraft became available firefighters and foresters quickly sought opportunities to utilise and adapt them.
Aircraft have three main advantages over ground resources: speed, access, and observation.
Aircraft have been used for a wide range of tasks including reconnaissance, firebombing, crew transport, aerial ignition, back burning, gathering infrared imagery as well as operational forestry tasks like aerial photography, surveys, spraying, fertilising and seeding.
Much of the early pioneering work in Australia was led by the Forests Commission Victoria in collaboration with other State forestry and fire authorities including the Western Australia Forests Department, Forestry Commission of NSW, Woods and Forest Department of South Australia and Forestry Tasmania. Federal agencies including the CSIRO also contributed significantly.
Overseas forest and fire agencies, particularly the US Forest Service, the US Bureau of Land Management and State agencies such as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) as well as the Canadian Forest Service faced similar challenges and proved strong and willing partners in sharing knowledge, equipment and expertise over many decades.
Major bushfires
Internationally, southern Australia and particularly the State of Victoria combined with the adjacent States of New South Wales (NSW), South Australia together with the island State of Tasmania, is commonly regarded one of the three landscapes on Earth most prone to damaging bushfires. The other two are southern California and the Mediterranean coast.
Moreover, much of eastern Victoria and alpine parts of NSW are remote, mountainous and inaccessible and bushfires are often caused by multiple lightning strikes which can grow quickly in size. Even with the aid of modern firebombing aircraft to slow the spread of a bushfire, the control of these fires usually remains reliant on ground crews getting to the fire edge to extinguish it completely. Although, heavy rain is sometimes sufficient.
History
Major Victorian bushfires occurred on Black Thursday in 1851, where an estimated 5 million hectares were burnt, followed by another blaze on Red Tuesday in February 1891 in South Gippsland when about 260,000 hectares were burnt, 12 people died, and more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed. This deadly pattern continued with more major fires on Black Sunday on 14 February 1926 which saw the tally rise to sixty lives being lost and widespread damage to farms, homes and forests. On 7 February 1967, the Black Tuesday bushfires in Tasmania were the worst the State had ever experienced, leaving 62 people dead, 900 injured and over seven thousand homeless.
However, when considered in terms of both loss of property and loss of life, the Black Friday bushfires on 13 January 1939 were one of the worst natural disasters to have occurred in Australia and certainly the worst bushfire up to that time. The 1939 Black Friday fires in Victoria burnt 2 million hectares, 69 mills were destroyed, 71 people died, and several towns were entirely obliterated. Only the Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia in the summer of 1983 and the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 have resulted in more fatalities.
Bushfires have undoubtedly always been a feature of Australian summers. In an average year, more than 600 bushfires occur in Victoria's National Parks and State Forests which burn about 110,000 hectares and retardant is used on about 10% of these. However, the impacts of bushfires are expected to rise as a result of population pressures and housing growth along the interface between forests and rural communities. Also, while the impacts of global warming are not fully known, Victoria is very likely to experience an increased number of days with extreme fire danger.