Early season fires over northern Australia
THE DRY SEASON up in the Top End (usually May-October) is typically a time for fires. In fact, almost one-third of the Kimberley burns each year.
But this season has jot an early start, with a raft of large fires blazing across the landscape.
This satellite image of the Northern Territory and Western Australia above taken on 8 May 2104, show bushfires outlined in red. The smoke from the largest of the fires is visible in the NT region.
The smoke is likely due to the burning of savannah woodlands rather than open grasslands.
For the past couple of years, Aboriginal community rangers have been working with the WA government to implement some different fire-fighting solutions. But it’s a constant battle with Mother Nature.
The remoteness of these areas also makes controlled burning and fire-fighting a challenging task. Often helicopters are used to locate fires and help with controlled burns.
See the North Australian Fire Information (NAFI) site for more information.
