Initial funding was provided in 2008 by Powerlink, allowing the purchase of highly accurate bearing compasses and other equipment. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service provided large scale maps of the Helidon Hills area showing key featurs and the locations of the Smoke Spotters.
Initially any Smokespotter sighting smoke was responsible for taking a bearing, then contacting others in the group to provide cross-bearings, plotting these on the QPWS maps, and relaying the identified location to the relevant Rural Fire Brigade or the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
It quickly became apparent that this approach was too onerous for people leading busy lives, and the need for a Smoke Spotter Coordinator was recognised. In 2012 a second Coordinator was appointed, and in 2015 a third Coordinator joined the team. We now have two Coordinators who share the role, often working together to locate fires on the basis of Smokespotter reports. (You can find the Coordinators' contact details under the Coordinators tab above. It is best to call in the order presented - i.e. if there is no response from the first coordinator, call the second).
Instead of the original process which involved large maps, protractors and rulers, the Coordinators now plot bearings on Google Earth as they are received. Their Google Earth files include overlay maps that show the roads and property boundaries in the Hills, special landscape features and properties, and the locations of all Smokespotters.
The group has now expanded to the point where in mid-2012 there were Smokespotters operating from 21 locations in and around the Helidon Hills, with some Smokespotters operating from their vehicles while travelling to work or for other purposes.
In 2013 the Lockyer Valley Regional Council presented the Smokespotter group with 10 Silva Sightmaster bearing compasses, some of which were given to Smokespotters to replace less accurate compasses and the remainder set aside to allow for equipping new members.
In 2019, when the Silva compasses needed replacing Lockyer Valley Regional Council again stepped up and replaced them with very high quality Suunto compasses.
The Smokespotters' efforts would not be effective without the cooperation and trust of FireComm, the Queensland Rural Fire Service, Rural Fire Brigades, the regional staff of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, and the local community.
when it comes to bushfires, we are all neighbours
