Country Fire Service prepares for summer season with smoke but no fire

On a clear, spring morning in South Australia's Wirrabara Ranges, smoke was beginning to rise from between the gum trees on a slope in the conservation park.

For people who glimpsed the growing billows of smoke from nearby towns in the southern Flinders Ranges, the sight may have triggered some alarm.

Accompanying the smoke was the roar of several planes and helicopters, dropping hundreds of litres of water in a scene reminiscent of a bushfire that raged through the same region more than a decade earlier.

The devastating Bangor bushfire burnt for a month in 2014 around SA's Southern Flinders Ranges, destroying homes, farms and businesses and killing thousands of animals.

While no human lives were lost, the trauma left a deep mark on those who lived through it, and the rebuild was long.

But what was unfolding on this warm September day in 2025 was different: there was smoke but no fire — it was fake.

The smoke was the product of volunteers from the Country Fire Service (CFS) conducting a simulation, setting off canisters to mimic bushfire activity for an annual aerial firefighting drill.

As bushfire season approaches, the training is integral for the organisation. 

So, what does it involve — and what will this season look like?

To 'clear the cobwebs'

For two weeks every year, about 70 CFS personnel base themselves out of the Port Pirie Aerodrome.

Their exercises revolve around the nearby Mount Remarkable National Park, Wirrabara Range Conservation Park, and Beetaloo Reservoir.

A truck, which effectively acts as a mobile incident and command unit, allows the ground crew to communicate with all five of its "air attack" aircraft, including two fixed-wing bombers, a utility helicopter and two fixed-wing observation planes.

After ground crews set off the smoke canisters, the aircraft and observation teams are activated as if a real fire has ignited.

With the assistance of those on the ground, teams map out water bombing runs before eventually "putting out" the fake fires with bombing drops.

Rob Laver, SA CFS's aviation standards and planning officer, described the two-week drill as a kind of "currency and competency" training exercise that took place in any job, only with higher stakes.

"It's so when the fire season does start and aircraft are engaged, everybody is all on the same page," he said.

That includes using some of the latest innovations — procedural and technological — in firefighting, such as the AS350 helicopter.

The AS350, or Squirrel, is a "multi-mission machine" capable of varied roles during a bushfire, including crew insertion if firefighters are unable to get to a location via vehicle, and strategic bucket work.

The aircraft is also capable of dropping incendiary pills of fire to eliminate vegetation that would otherwise allow an out-of-control fire to spread, stopping the process in its tracks — a practice Mr Laver calls "fighting fire with fire".

These operations usually require between 12 and 24 hours of pre-planning, but allow a larger area to be covered in a smaller amount of time than if they were done solely on the ground.

CFS SA manager of state aviation operations, Nik Stanley, said the training had benefits outside of the technical.

"[It] can clear out the cobwebs but also get them back in the mindset and the headspace that we are moving into fire season," he said.

Crucial work

As the drills unfolded, plenty of onlookers came to the Port Pirie Aerodrome to witness the training, bringing their cameras and camcorders to capture the planes and helicopters flying in.

But the spectacle could often belie the importance of the training.

The Southern Flinders Ranges are an almost perfect training ground for South Australia's firefighters.

The area has every terrain and topographical variety of the state's bushfire-susceptible land, with its nearby pine forests, eucalypt hills and cropping land.

The aerodrome has been a permanent base for the CFS for about three years, with a 240,000-litre water tank for fuelling air firefighting operations, and is the only place such exercises take place.

That can, in part, be attributed to aerodrome manager and CFS volunteer Steve Joyce, who witnessed the Bangor bushfires and worked to turn the aerodrome into a permanent home for the CFS.

"It inspired me," Mr Joyce said.

"[Bangor] was a wake-up call for me because it came so close to Port Pirie. I witnessed first-hand how important the CFS's aerial bombers were."

What will the season be like?

The majority of South Australia has already entered its fire danger season. 

Mr Stanley said the outlook was for a standard season. 

The Riverland, Murray Lands and the Mid North have experienced significant rainfall in areas, while others remained dry.

"We are still seeing rainfall deficiencies in the soil, so we are hopeful of seeing some more [rain]," Mr Stanley said.

"Everyone needs to be aware [of that]."

Mr Laver agreed and said the only thing people should be certain about was their preparation plan.

"It's going to be stock standard, but people still need to be vigilant," he said.