North Canterbury scrub fires 'high risk' for crews battling blazes

Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Helicopters using monsoon buckets dump water on a large fire north of Rangiora on February 3, 2020.

Firefighters are bracing for the 'trifecta of danger' as dry, hot and windy conditions are set to combine.

Scorching temperatures, strong winds and falling trees were making it difficult for fire crews to tackle two large scrub fires in North Canterbury on Tuesday evening.

Firefighters battled the blazes by the Ashley River on Monday as temperatures reached about 30 degrees Celsius.

The charred remains of scrub after a fire by the Ashley River as flames ripped through the area on Monday.

A helicopter flies through smoke caused by a large fire at Loburn, North Canterbury.

A helicopter with a monsoon bucket prepares to dump water on a large fire at Loburn, North Canterbury on Monday.

Eleven fire crews and three helicopters with monsoon buckets continued to fight the two fires burning near the Ashley River bank.

The fires were not under control on Tuesday evening and considered high risk because of strong winds and falling trees.

The first blaze in Loburn was off Dunlops Rd by the Ashley River, which had been burning since 3.30pm on Sunday and flared up again on Monday night, forcing crews to pull back.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokeswoman Lyn Crosson said the blaze had burned through 93 hectares of scrub.

* Combine harvester and large paddock on fire near Waipara, North Canterbury

* South Island firefighters kept busy with overnight blazes**

A separate fire that started about 5.45am on Monday was burned about 12ha of scrub off River Rd and spread to a small plantation. A third fire broke out across the river early on Tuesday morning.

Once the fires were under control, it could take several days to extinguish them, Crosson said.

No properties were damaged in the blazes but they were emitting large plumes of smoke and embers.

Fenz incident controller Graeme Knight said the fires would remain 'dangerous and unpredictable' and people should stay well away from the area.

Canterbury remains one of the driest regions in the country so far this year. Over the past 30 days, North Canterbury has received just 1.2 millimetres of rain, Christchurch 3.2mm and Ashburton only 6.4mm – far below the January average of about 28mm.

Since January 25, a prohibited fire season has been in place for 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 are allowed.

The Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago areas are in a total fire ban, meaning no fires can be lit and all fire permits are suspended until further notice. Activities that might cause sparks such as grinding, welding, road-side mowing, chainsaws, and fireworks are prohibited. Fire permits are also suspended in Clutha and Coastal Otago.