Fire Close to Home

[Isac]

Horrible fire started a few blocks from home just after noon today and finally under control around 5:30. Lots of road blocks and loss of property (caravan, sheds etc.). All safe here but very scary! One fixed wing, 6 Helitacs and "Elvis" the jumbo chopper flying continuously over our home for over 4 hours, shaking the windows and very noisy. Good to get a few snaps though.

#1 - Helitac-2


#2 - Elvis


#3 - Fixed Wing


#4 - Helitac


#5 - Smokin'

[Alan]

Nice series - glad it all turned out well. Scary stuff.

Thankful I'm now out of a bush fire zone, but so appreciative of all the work the various organisations do/did in keeping us safe

[Isac]

Thanks Alan, It was only a few streets from us and being in suburbia you take it for granted that bush fires won't play a part in your everyday lives. But as seen today it only takes the right weather and conditions and it's on for young and old. A great friend and tog is a volunteer in Toodyay which is all bush, 1 hour east of Perth. Right now they're called out every day because of fire bugs. Not good.

[Mark L]

I like the first (might as well get close) and the last (yep fires can come close to the 'burbs).
news is reporting there's still a major fire out of control over your way.

For interests sake, I get to talk on the radio to the pilots of these aircraft when they are around our parts helping put fires out. Am in a Rural Fire Service communications brigade.
This is the call signs I'd use to contact them (or the call signs they'd use to contact me.)
#1 Helitak 627
#2 Helitak 739 (BTW Elvis don't come no more. It's called something else that I don't care about )
#3 Bomber ...... (whatever the rego number is on the sides we can't see
#4 same as #1, but by now we are you using the numbers only. No aircraft has they same number, so they know who they.

[Isac]

From now on I'll be using HELITAK, but it really should be HELITACK because it means "Helicopter Air Attack". I must admit we are always looking for shortcuts in the Queen's English.

[Mark L]

"Helicopter Air Attack" can be done by Firebirds (light helicopter) and Helitaks (medium/heavy helicopter. You have examples of both in you photos)
They're just callsigns anyway.
We use the spelling helitak in N.S.W. but over your way they spell it helitac ....... http://www.dfes.wa.gov.au/aboutus/op.../helitacs.aspx
Go figure.

[Isac]

Because westies call them HELITACS I might use that for now. Thanks Mark.

[seaslug]

Wow.. scary stuff!

[Isac]

Scary all right. I drove past after the fire was under control and it's just a black mess. Fire doesn't discriminate.