Bushfires NT and volunteers brace for long Red Centre fire season ahead

Stretched across hundreds of kilometres, working up to 12 hours a day and risking their safety, the workload of bushfire crews could increase with the upcoming fire season predicted to be longer than usual.

As Territorians enjoy their festive season, a small but effective team of firefighters continue to hustle across the desert and dousing out fast-moving flames as the Red Centre braces for a long fire season ahead.

Working up to 12 hours a day, stretched across hundreds of kilometres, and co-ordinating land and air operations, a dozen bushfire staff and a group of volunteers have forfeited their Christmas holidays to combat fires that threaten regional and remote communities.

Bushfires NT Incident Controller Garry Fischer said some staff members had been working continuously throughout the year without break.

“A lot of these staff have been working now since May and June in the Top End and then they’ve gone down to Alice Springs to provide support down there,” he said.

“So it’s been a very long season for the bushfire crews this year and they’ve been working up to 12 hours a day during that period.”

Mr Fischer said the upcoming fire season was predicted to be longer than usual.

“The fire season will continue across Central Australia and the Barkly Region through to February – it may even go beyond that,” he said.

“The current prediction is giving us some indication that February is going to be a long, hot, dry period down there.”

Fires near Alice Springs last month. Picture: Bushfires NT.

Mr Fischer confirmed there was a shortage of volunteers in the Red Centre.

“There’s always a shortage of volunteers – Alice Springs and Tennant Creek have volunteer brigades which have been busy over the Christmas period supporting bush fires and landowners,” he said.

“(We’re) always on the lookout for more people to join up.”

Mr Fischer said there were simple measures community members could take to mitigate the risk of starting a fire.

“Be careful, be watchful, make sure there’s no accidentally lit fires out in the landscapes whether its campfires, whether it's cigarettes out the windows, being careful with tools such as welders and grinders – they’re really important considerations in stopping fires.”