Helicopters on the Fire Front
he unprecedented and deadly beginning to Australia’s 2019-20 fire season saw record numbers of rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft responding to numerous fires burning around the country. On Australia’s east coast, fires have been burning since September in southern Queensland, Victoria and northern New South Wales. By mid-November, more than 70 bushfires had already triggered evacuations from Bundaberg down to the Gold Coast, with some fire attack operations occurring as far north as Cairns. The NSW bushfires burnt through millions of hectares; an area almost twice the size of greater Sydney. Forecasts held little good news, with the weeks leading up to Christmas and beyond seeing continued
