Some can go home, but many fire evacuees are still in the dark

Thursday, 14 February 2019

Smouldering hot spots like this one in Eves Valley can flare up and spark adjacent fires, making it dangerous for people to return.

Many residents of Pigeon Valley will be relieved to be returning home this morning, as the cordon moves further up the valley.

Civil Defence controller Roger Ball announced at the community meeting on Wednesday night that the cordon will be moved up Pigeon Valley Rd from 8am on Thursday to the intersection with Pigeon Valley South Branch Rd.

Patience is wearing thin among some Tasman residents who still don't know when they might be allowed to return home. Video published in February, 2019.

Ball said the moved cordon opened up 'about 74 houses' for people to return to on the same conditions as the Wakefield re-entry. Residents must be prepared to evacuate quickly if conditions change, and are encouraged to keep go-bags ready.

One relieved Pigeon Valley family, the McLeans, are relieved to be returning home after going through two evacuations and having to split up for several days.

The cordon at Pigeon Valley is being moved up the road from the intersection with SH6 to the intersection with Pigeon Valley South Branch Rd.

* Nelson bush fire: Home comforts in Wakefield as 'long haul' fire fight continues

* Wind change cuts short fire evacuees' home visit**

Don McLean said his family of seven evacuated their Pigeon Valley home on Friday and went to stay with his mother in Wakefield, only to be uprooted again when Wakefield was evacuated shortly afterwards.

'I went to work on the Friday, which was a bit silly because then we got the call to evacuate and I couldn't get back in to get anything.'

With seven of them needing accommodation, eight including his mother when Wakefield was evacuated, McLean said they were forced to split up with some staying with cousins and some with friends.

'It's a huge relief, being able to go home,' he said.

'We've all been separated, it will be good to have everybody back together again.'

The remainder of Pigeon Valley and the other evacuated valley residents, about 500 people, are still only allowed into their homes for brief periods of time during the day and have no indication yet of when they might be able to return home permanently.

Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) controller Trevor Mitchell said that the fire, which had a 33km perimeter and covered 2400 hectares, was 'still the boss'.

'We're not out of the woods yet,' he said.

During the night on Tuesday, Mitchell said sparks from a flare-up carried over one of the FENZ bulldozed containment lines and started a fresh fire.

'We dealt with that quickly, but it's the fire telling us 'I'm still the boss, I'm still active'.'

Though numbers have dwindled at the community meetings on the Tasman wildfire since Wakefield was re-entered, the emotions are still running high, with many people feeling the stress of not knowing when they can return to their homes.

Brenda Gregory, a resident of Redwood Valley, said it was difficult not knowing when she would be able to return to her home and business permanently.

'They let us through for two hours a day, but you can't get much done in two hours,' she said.

'That's nothing against Civil Defence or the fire service, they've done an amazing job.'

'I went to work on the Friday, which was a bit silly because then we got the call to evacuate and I couldn't get back in to get anything.'