Nelson bush fire: 'Give us time' firefighters urge evacuated residents

Thursday, 7 February 2019

Guy Mollett photographed his Redwood Valley home as he evacuated during the forest fire on Tuesday night.

Fire evacuees who want to go back to their homes and tend to livestock are being urged to be patient, as fire crews assess whether it is safe for them to return to their properties.

About 400 people have been forced out of their homes by an out-of-control fire near Nelson.

Evacuated residents sought assurances from emergency services at a community meeting on Thursday as authorities predicted most would not be able to return until Friday at the earliest.

Deer farmer Graeme Sutton said he couldn't move his 80 animals from his property in Redwood Valleyand he needed to get in to his property to feed and look after them.

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'We just need to make sure that people don't stop us from doing that. I know that I speak for a lot of farmers, some of us are on the perimeter,' he told the meeting.

The fire came close to his property but was 'now back on the other side', he told Stuff afterwards.

The deer had broken through a fence, and he put them back in the paddock when he was allowed to return for 'a little while' on Wednesday

'I appreciate the job that they're doing, I'm not criticising that one bit at all.

'I see a harder line coming today about that [residents returning to properties] and I just wanted to make sure that we can do it officially and legitimately.'

Some people said they needed better information on who to contact, and how.

People forced out of their homes by a fire burning out of control near Nelson, seek assurance they can return to protect their homes and livestock, at a community meeting on Thursday.

Evacuated Redwood Valley resident, John Frizelle said he had been in touch 'multiple times' with officials on the ground and at the council.

'We've got no response from them outside of go to the Civil Defence regions.'

While Frizelle had registered with Civil Defence, the first he had heard about Thursday's community meeting was through social media, he said.

He wanted to get back to his house to dampen hotspots near his home, like smouldering fenceposts, before the wind picked up.

Other people said residents' frustrations could be relieved if people stationed at road blocks were better informed.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand incident controller, John Sutton, and Tasman District Council recovery manager Adrian Humphries were among those to address the large crowd at Appleby rural fire station, many of whom had left their homes on Tuesday, after the fire broke out in Pigeon Valley.

Evacuated Redwood Valley farmer Graeme Sutton (in the green cap) says he needs to be able to return to his property to feed and look after his 80 deer.

'We're not stopping people getting on [to their properties] just because it's easy for us, we are stopping people getting on because it is still very dangerous in some areas,' Humphries told the gathering.

If people needed to get onto their properties they should 'contact us', and if emergency workers could get people in with an escort, they would, he said.

'By later Thursday we should be in a better position to be able to say yes, it's OK to let people in temporarily,' Sutton said.

Twice as many firefighters were on the ground than previously, and heavy machinery had been used to put in more firebreaks overnight, he said.

Thursday was a 'huge day' for fire crews, who were trying to make ground before the stronger winds that were forecast arrived, Sutton said.

'You need to give us some time, we haven't been able to even get around the entire fire until last night. There's some pretty good work starting now to reassess that, but we do have in mind there is still a lot of active fire burning in the centre, and with wind shifts and chance, the dynamics of what's safe and what's not safe could change in the matter of an hour.'

The start of the Pigeon Valley fire that turned into a major fire storm.

Tasman District council recovery manager, Adrian Humphries, said he heard the concerns 'loud and clear.'

'We don't want to stop anybody helping their animals where we can.

'The best thing to do is contact us individually and then we will see what we can arrange specifically for you. I can't guarantee we can do it for everybody because it is still very dangerous in parts of the area there.'

Nearby Rabbit Island meanwhile would be open to the public again on Thursday, after being shut while firefighters brought a blaze under control there on Wednesday, Humphries said.

'Possibly it was deliberately lit, we don't know. Fire and emergency did a great job in containing that fire, it was 10 hectares at one stage, it's now down contained to about 2 hectares.

'The message to the public in general is if you see any suspicious activity in that way, let the police know right away, because obviously we don't need distractions such as that.'

A woman at the meeting shouted out that Rabbit Island should still remain shut, which met with murmurs of approval.