Last night about 7.00 pm the siren went off. Lightening strike started a fire (the rain is patchy) about a hectare of grass and a few trees about 20 mins away on a cattle property. Three tankers (15 crew) from different locations attended and we had it out in an hour.
This is typical of your fires. If it was daylight and the fire was spreading then there was a helo and air tractor about ten minutes or less away.
It’s all right to think big, professional firefighters, squadrons of giant aircraft, man made lakes, central command in Canberra, etc. but the reality is they will sit around eating money for most of the year. A cocky with a nap sack spray does it quicker and for free.
BTW, we now have 14 new members under training, mostly young folk, I suspect as a result of the fires and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was happening elsewhere.