The rural firefighters enroute to help battle fires in Tasmania say the rugged terrain and extreme temperatures will be challenging.
Two crews of rural firefighters and their manager flew out of Auckland for Tasmania on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: RNZ
The liaison officer for the deployment, John Barnes, said it's going to be arduous work in extremely hot temperatures.
Mr Barnes said some of them may have to camp in the bush, as a lot of the worst affected areas are isolated.
He said it's difficult to get machinery that far into the bush, so much of the fire fighting will be done with hand tools, small pumps and a hose.
The youngest of the group is Northland firefighter, Matiu Mataira, who has been working as a fire fighter for four years.
The worst affected areas are quite isolated, and Mr Mataira said the terrain looks quite challenging.
But he said the most difficult part of the work will be the heat, which is up to 20-degrees hotter than in New Zealand.
National Rural Fire Officer Murray Dudfield said they will be sent to the front line to fight a number of uncontrolled fires.
He told Summer Report it's important the Tasmanian firefighters are given the chance to rest.
Mr Dudfield said the New Zealand firefighters will arrive in Tasmania on Wednesday evening and begin work on Friday.
He has not ruled out sending more firefighters if required.
