NZ Crews To Assist With Wye River Fire

POSTED:

2 January 2016

An experienced team of Kiwi fire fighters will assist local crews build containment lines around the Wye River-Jamieson Track fire.

The first international deployment of 23 personnel from New Zealand includes 20 ‘arduous’ fire fighters who will work for three weeks doing difficult physical ground work in very remote and steep terrain, such as building containment lines with rakes.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the deployment would work in collaboration with the local agencies to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible.

“The crews being deployed are very experienced in dealing with large fires, particularly in steep and often inaccessible country,” he said.

“It’s great to see Victoria working with agencies from abroad, sharing our knowledge and expertise to tackle what are very difficult fire conditions.”

“The attack on this fire is a real team effort, with over 400 personnel from CFA, DELWP Forest Fire Management and Parks Victoria working around the clock.”

Crews will begin work this Monday 4 January and will be accommodated at the Forrest base camp alongside the large Australian team tackling the blaze.

A second contingent of New Zealand fire fighters will arrive in the coming week and provide additional support on the ground.

The welcome addition of the New Zealand crew builds on the eight interstate personnel already deployed from New South Wales who are providing expert support across a variety of incident management roles.

The Wye River-Jamieson Track fire was caused by lightning strikes on the 19 December and has burnt an area over 2,400 ha.

The fire ran extensively to the south impacting the townships of Wye River and Separation Creek and saw the loss of 116 properties.

For more information on the current fire, please visit www.emergency.vic.gov.au and follow VicEmergency on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact: Victorian State Control Centre Media on 1300 232 633

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NZ Crews To Assist With Wye River Fire