A strike force of Volunteers from Rural Fire Service brigades across the MIA have returned from operations helping to fight fires in Victoria's Alpine National Park.
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A total of 15 volunteers from the RFS brigades at Barellan, Coleambally, Paynters Siding, Fivebough Stony Point, Yanco, Carrathool and Hanwood formed the MIA Stirke Force.
Steve Kada from the RFS' Mia District Office in Griffith lead the group.
Other volunteers included Steve Woodham, Rob Liddle, Hayden Dunn, Jim Hunter, Graeme Dunn, Alastair MacDonald, Ian Thompson, Chris Langley, Andy Cappararo, Lynn Woodham, Pat O'Callaghan, Angela Sampson, Thomas Breed and Michael Lamont.
Each of the brigades also volunteered at least one of their category seven fire trucks, which met up in Gillenbah at around 8.30am last Sunday before setting off to the Dinner Plain, located within the National Park where the they were working to contain the fires.
Hanwood Brigade Captain Darrell Wallace said the fires in the Alpines are believed to have started following a lighting strike which ignited dry bush land, with around 16,000 hectares having been burnt.
Captain Wallace said the work has been hard going for the volunteers who have been working 12 hours shifts using hoses and hand tools in containing the fires.
However, Captain Wallace said he was pleased that the two volunteers from his brigade Andy Cappararo and Angela Sampson joined the Strike Force.
He said believes such joint efforts between RFS brigades in the MIA District will help when coordinating with each other locally.
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