Second contingent of firefighters depart for Queensland
Our second deployment of firefighters to Australia - Bravo contingent - departed Auckland on Thursday to relieve the Alpha strike team, who have been providing aid in Queensland since November 6th.
Bravo consists of 22 personnel, made up of four five-person crews and two strike team leaders.
Favourable weather conditions in the past 10 days saw the number of bushfires in the state drop from 70 to 38 by last weekend, but the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) issued a warning on Tuesday that heightened bushfire conditions are expected over the coming days. On Wednesday morning, the number of bushfires in the state sits at 52.
Alpha deployment arrives back in New Zealand on November 18th, with the six-person Incident Management Team returning a day earlier.
Thank you to the members of our Alpha contingent and Incident Management Team who have provided significant support to our Australian neighbours over the past two weeks.