Defence helicopter pilot denies failure to alert authorities to Orroral Valley bushfire was due to fear of tarnishing military's reputation

A photograph taken from the Defence helicopter that began the Orroral Valley fire, just moments after it was accidentally sparked. (Supplied: Department of Defence)

One of the army officers on board a helicopter which sparked the devastating January 2020 Orroral Valley fire near Canberra has told an inquiry he had previously seen grass begin to smoulder after contact with a light.

The Orroral Valley fire burned for five weeks, destroying 90,000 hectares of the Namadji National Park near Canberra and burning across the Clear Range into New South Wales.