KEY POINTS:
New Zealand firefighters have finally hit the front line in the battle against eight bushfires still burning out of control in Victoria.
Fifty-one national rural fire officers, five Defence Force firefighters and four police victim recovery dogs and their handlers flew to Victoria on Friday to help tackle the deadly bush fires, which have claimed at least 181 lives and destroyed 1834 homes.
A spokesman for the contingent, Alan Thompson, said today the New Zealand firefighters had finally hit the frontline this morning after two days of briefings and orientation.
The group had been sent in to help fight a fire in the Yarra state forest - backcountry to the north of the area where the firestorm last week destroyed several towns.
Mr Thompson said the group was working a 12-hour shift using dry firefighting techniques in the mainly eucalypt forest.
Conditions were good, with light winds and temperatures around 30degC. As a result the fire was burning only through undergrowth and small trees, rather than the forest's canopy.
The firefighters were cutting and scraping firebreaks into the forest with handtools and backburning sections in a controlled manner to remove fuel for the fires.
Mr Thomson said the group would work seven days of 12-hour shifts, followed by two days off, then another week of 12-hour shifts before returning to New Zealand.
A second deployment of New Zealand firefighters could be brought in after three weeks.
Country Fire Authority spokesman Gary Weir today said although favourable weather conditions were forecast for the next few days, fuel was still dry and the fires could flare up again if the wind picked up.
- NZPA
