Total fire ban coming as conditions in Canterbury pose extreme fire danger

Tuesday, 21 January 2020

A total fire ban will hit Canterbury about a month earlier than last year, as tinder dry conditions leave firefighters on edge.

From 12am on Saturday, a prohibited fire season will be in place in the Christchurch, Hurunui, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts. 

All open air fires will be prohibited but gas-operated appliances, barbecues, wood-fire pizza ovens, hāngi and umu less than 2 metres in size would be allowed.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) North Canterbury deputy principal fire officer Dale Wilhelm​ said the lack of rain meant restrictions were needed earlier than last year.

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'We're not going to entertain you getting a permit for a fire,' he said.

'The trifecta of danger is hot, dry and windy. We've got dry, that's a given at the moment, we're going to get the hot and we're potentially going to get the windy.'

People should not do anything that had the potential to start a fire, he said.

'That comes down to even things like mowing the lawn – do it in the morning when it's cold, don't wait until mid-afternoon to mow the lawn, because a single stone off the blade can cause a spark and start a fire. If you're driving in dry areas, think about where you're going to park – hot exhausts again are a common issue. 

'If people see something they're not sure about, call 111 straight away. The sooner we know about it, the sooner we can respond.'

Wilhelm​ said the earlier total fire ban was 'purely down to the amount of extended period of no rain'.

'We actually got a bit of rain through January last year that helped hold it back.' 

Fenz​ was reminded of the risk on January 11, when over 35 firefighters and a helicopter battled a vegetation fire near Loburn in North Canterbury for about five hours.

It was threatening homes but luckily, none were damaged.

'The fire started with a really strong nor-west wind,' Wilhelm​ said.

'It was running along a hedge row and it bounced out into the paddock. The fire's jumped 10-15 metres at a time and started a new fire.'

They were lucky the grass was short and heavily grazed, he said.

'Potentially it could have kept spreading through, we've got a lot of lifestyle blocks over here. All of those houses would've​ been at risk.'

The cause of the blaze was unknown, but it was not believed to be suspicious.

The North Canterbury region was flagged by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) as the South Island's hotspot throughout December.

Canterbury remains one of the driest in the country so far this year.

Christchurch has received just 2.4 millimetres of rain in the past 30 days while Rangiora in North Canterbury received 5.8mm and Ashburton in Selwyn 8.8mm - far below the January average of about 28mm.

Long-time Waipara farmer John McCaskey​ said it appeared the district was back to a cycle he remembered from his childhood: 'Days of hot/dry nor-wester followed by the curse of Waipara.'

'Dry southerlies which are every bit as drying, and then back to a few days easterly before the next cycle of nor-west. Our best rains have always come from the easterly quarter and there are no signs, so no hope, so far.'

For further information on fire restrictions, visit www.checkitsalright.nz.