A Maitland organisation has until now flown relatively under the radar for its helpful contribution to fighting last week's ferocious fire at Greta.
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Luskintyre Airfield assisted firefighting efforts in the suburb through its deep water dams, which were built for the community to use in incidents such as fire and taking cattle on in times of drought.
Matt Webber, who runs Luskintyre Aircraft Restoration from the private airfield, said when the fires broke out last Tuesday, two dams on site had water in them despite many surrounding ones being dry.
"If you fly over the area, you can see 90 per cent of the dams are empty," he said.
"We don't really use our water here. The dams are there to benefit the whole area."
Mr Webber said helicopters were going back and forth between the fire, which was just over the ridge, and the airfield every 20 minutes or so carrying loads of water.
The dams are there to benefit the whole area.
- Matt Webber
Embers had even started to fly over the airfield itself in the 'catastrophic' conditions.
Lower Hunter Rural Fire Service public liaison officer Terry Burns said being able to take water from dams to battle fires was a huge help for crews on the ground.
"To have Luskintyre Airfield available, especially so close to Greta, really helped support our operations there," he said.
Members of the Luskintyre Aviation Flying Museum came up with the idea to build the dams several decades ago.
"It's such a simple thing that can do so much for the community," member Kevin Weldon said.
Mr Weldon said the biggest dam was built in 1985, made deeper about 10 years later and dug deeper again another 10 years after that. He said it was about 25 feet deep at the corner.
"It's still got a lot of water in it," he said.
But Mr Webber said the smaller dam was now pretty empty after last week's firefighting use.
"Which is fine, that's what they're there for," he said.
Mr Weldon said the members wanted to make the second dam deeper and wider to make it more sustainable for future use.
He said the club was even looking at acquiring a firetruck to have at the airfield to assist with firefighting efforts in the local area.
Meanwhile, the RFS is cautioning those who came through last Tuesday's catastrophic conditions unscathed not to relax or become complacent.
"Those thinking that thank God last week is over... it's only just the beginning," RFS Lower Hunter Superintendent Martin Siemsen said. "We haven't even hit summer yet."
Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
