Smattering of rain offers little relief for Christchurch's parched hills

Sunday, 9 February 2020

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

Christchurch's Port Hills are drying out as the fire risk continues to rise to similar levels seen before the destructive fires in 2017.

Hot, dry and windy weather has scorched the region over the past month, dramatically increasing the risk of large and fast-spreading fires. While the city had some reprieve from the hot temperatures with a smattering of rain falling late last week, it measured just 7.4 millimetres, a fraction of the amount that fell in the lower South Island over three days.

According to Niwa data, which tracks the fire danger levels across the country, most of Canterbury has a moderate to extreme fire risk.

Eleven homes were lost and five others suffered damage when a massive blaze ravaged 2000 hectares of Port Hills scrub in February 2017.

**READ MORE:

Rapaki from Lyttelton Harbour on November 3, left, then looking extra dry on February 9.

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

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

Cashmere ward city councillor Tim Scandrett says council rangers are very conscious of dryness on the Port Hills and the council is doing all it can to reduce the fire risk.

* Firefighters hand over rural scrub fires to Environment Canterbury**

Niwa's Build Up Index (BUI) calculates how much fuel is available for a fire to burn in a given area, based on weather conditions. Values above 60 are high, 80 very high, and 100 is extreme.

A helicopter with a monsoon bucket prepares to dump water on a large fire at Loburn, North Canterbury on February 3.

Of the 50 stations monitored across Canterbury, 21 are above the BUIs high fire risk threshold. As of Sunday, the region's most extreme BUI was Hanmer at 134.2.

Scion fire scientist Grant Pearce said before the weekend's rain the high readings across the region were concerning.

Eleven homes were lost and five others suffered damage when a massive blaze ravaged 2000 hectares of Port Hills scrub in February 2017. file generic

'What firefighters are particularly worried about is fires starting, spreading and becoming large and difficult to control … and we're starting to see that.

'You move from fires that are relatively small at a fraction of a hectare, to a few hectares, and suddenly now we're starting to get fires that are a few hundred hectares or more.'

Two large scrub fires in North Canterbury, that started on Sunday and Monday last week, burned across more than 100 hectares collectively and took fire crews days to get on top of.

In the past 30 days, Christchurch has reached a high of at least 30 degrees Celsius five times. There appears to be no decent rain on the horizon until April.

Blue Skies Weather forecaster Tony Trewinnard said most of New Zealand, including parts of Canterbury, could expect to see some rain in the third week of February, but it might not be enough to turn around the region's dry spell.

Long range data showed March would be a dry month, but April would be wet.

Trewinnard expected fire risk to remain at extreme levels in the region through much of March.

As the Port Hills continue to dry off, Summit Rd Society president Bill Woods is advising people to be vigilant when using the area's extensive tracks.

There was a complete fire ban in the area and people should not be smoking up there either.

'It's just a matter of commonsense in an area that can be quite volatile when it gets hot.'

He said if anyone saw activity that may cause a fire, they should speak up.

Summit Rd Protection Authority chairman and Cashmere ward city councillor Tim Scandrett said council rangers were very conscious of dryness and the council was doing all it could to reduce the fire risk.

It was also up to property owners in the hills to maintain their own grass levels, he said.

Since January 25, a prohibited fire season has been in place for Christchurch, Hurunui, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts.

There is also a prohibited fire season in the Kaikōura district. The Ashburton, Timaru and McKenzie districts are under a restricted fire season.

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.

For further information on fire safety guidelines visit www.checkitsalright.nz.

- additional reporting by Tom Kitchin