As Canadian Forces start their tour of Australia helping to fight massive devastating bush fires, a member of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has just returned to Canadian soil.
Dan Johnson is a Fire Operations Supervisor and says the Australian landscape was vastly different than what crews were used to back home in northern Ontario.
“Ontario is relatively flat and Australia had some topography that made it challenging for suppression planning, the Australian weather itself they’ve been experiencing an early fire season. There were several days of higher temperatures and high winds,” explains Johnson.
Johnson says they also had to contend with eucalyptus trees.
“It has a sap that is very flammable and volatile, and its bark can hold an ember and with the wind, it can carry over long distances,” Johnson says.
