Kimberley Women in Fire 🔥

In 2022, the Kimberley Land Council held the first ever Kimberley Women's Fire Forum. There was one clear message from the event; women rangers wanted to be more involved in fire management. Following the forum, women rangers throughout the Kimberley had a sense of empowerment that led to more women engaging in more fire management work than ever before. Over 55 women rangers took part in fire management training. In particular, 22 women completed incendiary machine operator (IMO) training, learning to use a machine called Raindance. The Raindance machine is used for aerial burning early in the year. Rangers operate the machine from helicopters and fixed wing planes, and the machine drops small pellets from the sky that light up when they reach the earth. By using an IMO, rangers start right way fire over large areas which can then be managed from the ground. Historically, men rangers in the teams have taken the lead with aerial burning, however over the past year ranger teams are seeing more gender equity, with women being more involved in aerial and ground burning and fire suppression efforts. With the 2023 fire planning season about to begin, the KLC will be assisting more women and men rangers to continue developing their technical skills in all aspects of fire management. Watch this video produced at last year’s fire forum to hear firsthand from Kimberley women rangers about why Indigenous fire management is a key part of their work.