DFES aircraft drop record 17 million litres of water in long fire season

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ aerial firefighting fleet has completed its longest and busiest season yet, dropping more than 17 million litres of water and retardant on firegrounds and keeping Western Australians safe for a record period of seven months.

During the 2023/24 bushfire season, the aerial fleet flew more than 2300 hours across 208 incidents and conducted a record 7025 drops from October to May, almost doubling the number of drops recorded in the 2022-23 season.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM said aircraft were deployed from Karratha to Esperance and were a critical component of the State’s firefighting efforts.

“Firefighting aircraft supported our crews on the ground for around seven months, a record for Western Australia which reflects the increased risk of large, complex bushfires that can put the community at risk,” Commissioner Klemm said.

“The southern bushfire season was longer and more intense than we have experienced in recent years with volunteer and career firefighters responding to 5088 bushfires between October 2023 and May 2024 – 1000 more bushfires compared with the same period last season.

“The aerial fleet was integral to our bushfire response, helping to protect lives and property, often in challenging terrain and during extreme fire conditions.”

With high-risk bushfire conditions prevalent outside the traditional months of December to March, DFES aircraft were activated early in October 2023 and extended to early May 2024.

The aerial fleet comprises 36 rotary and fixed-wing suppression and aerial intelligence aircraft and is managed by DFES and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Firefighting aircraft deployed during the season included Bell 214 and Black Hawk Helitaks and several fixed-wing aircraft including the Large Air Tankers (LATs).

LATs are used to fight larger fires, often in complex terrain. They flew for a total of 114 hours during the season and dropped more than 1.3 million litres of water on fires.

Bell 214 Helitaks were the most prolific aircraft, often seen flying over fires in and around Perth and WA’s South-West.

They flew for 830 hours and dropped more than 10.2 million litres of water, while the bigger Black Hawk helicopters flew for 265 hours and dropped almost 5.9 million litres.

The most intensive months for aerial firefighting were December, January and March.

During 2022-2023 the fleet logged more than 1400 hours of flight time and completed 3579 drops, totalling 10.3 million litres across the State.