Elvis ready to fight fires

Elvis, the water-bombing helicopter, has arrived in Melbourne and is on standby as Victoria faces another harrowing bushfire season.

The Erickson Aircrane is one of 200 firefighting aircraft at the ready this summer.

Victoria's Environment Minister Gavin Jennings said: "Elvis can dump 9000 litres of water or fire retardant."

Elvis last year flew about 100 missions, dropping more than 6 million litres.

Victoria will trial a large water bombing plane for the first time. Two Sikorsky 61N helicopters would also be on standby.