Firefighters due back from Australia

22 January 2016

Twenty-three firefighters return home on Sunday (24/1) after completing a three-week deployment in Australia.

The group, drawn from rural fire authorities as well as from the Department of Conservation and forestry companies, will fly into Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown on Sunday afternoon.

The firefighters helped their Victoria counterparts battle bushfires along the state’s southwest coast. Much of their effort was concentrated around the coastal town of Lorne, 150 kilometres southwest of Melbourne.

The fires continue to burn in dense forest but are now under control, having destroyed 2,500 hectares.

A second contingent of 22 firefighters left on 11 January and will return on 2 February. They are building fire breaks in steep, rugged hill country where the fires are concentrated.

National Rural Fire Officer Kevin O'Connor said the Victorians had appreciated the assistance from the New Zealand firefighters who had gained valuable experience from the deployment.

The latest two deployments bring to 10 the number of times New Zealand firefighters have helped out in Australia in the past 15 years.

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