Canterbury highway reopens after firefighters battled blaze fanned by high winds
Thursday, 17 September 2020
Two fire crews will stay overnight at the scene of a roadside fire that closed State Highway 7 in North Canterbury for about three hours.
Efforts to fight the blaze near Marble Point, which started late Thursday afternoon, were initially hampered by strong winds. Wind warnings were in place for Canterbury through much of Thursday, with gusts reaching 83kmh at Christchurch Airport.
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The fire did not threaten any property and was initially burning into the hills, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman Andrew Norris said.
Twelve crews were at the fire at its peak – about 6.30pm – but it had since died down. Two crews would stay overnight to monitor hotspots.
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It remains unclear how big the fire was or how it started.
Winds in the surrounding area had been forecast to reach 110kmh, MetService forecast Gerard Bellam said.
Some light rain fell in the area in the early evening, and heavier rain and colder temperatures would follow overnight as a southerly front moved up the region.
Bellam said he expected the southerly front to bring “a decent amount of rain”.
State Highway 7 was closed between Culverden and the turnoff to Hanmer Springs while the fire raged, but reopened to one lane about 8pm.
Culverden is about 100 kilometres north of Christchurch.
Four Fenz crews were also called to a small fire on Happy Valley Rd, near Motunau Beach, on Thursday evening.
Motunau, located on the east coast of the South Island, is about 70km north of Christchurch.
A Fenz spokesowman said the fire was burning in a 30-hectare plantation and 11 crews were there at its peak.
One crew would remain overnight to monitor the blaze.
Caravan destroyed in Dunedin
The high winds earlier prompted police to remind motorists to be careful when towing high-sided vehicles.
A police spokeswoman said a car and caravan had been blown off Mouse Point Rd, near Culverden, by strong winds on Thursday evening.
On Wednesday afternoon, a caravan was knocked off State Highway 1, just north of the Otago town of Waikouaiti, and smashed it.
Acting Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said the wind was so strong, police were unable to clear the debris from the road immediately. The cleanup was carried out when the wind died down.
Police urged motorists – particularly those driving high-sided vehicles – to be cautious and to drive to the conditions, he said.
The winds also blew a roof off a fire-damaged building in Hillside Rd in Dunedin on Wednesday.
The road was closed while debris remained strewn across the area.
Bond said firefighters secured the remains of the roof, and a civil engineer later inspected the building and declared it safe.
‘’Police would like to remind those with trampolines and other possible flying objects to ensure they are secured to the ground, so they don’t become UFOs,’’ Bond said.
Winds reach 83kmh in Christchurch
MetService issued multiple weather watches for strong winds in Christchurch and snow forecast for North Canterbury.
Temperatures topped 20 degrees Celsius in the city on Thursday morning and northwesterly winds reached 83kmh at Christchurch International Airport by the afternoon.
A MetService spokesman said the wind watch was in place across Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains until 7pm.
“There is also a strong wind warning inland, so the wind is a lot stronger as you get towards the Southern Alps.”
He said the warning criteria was for wind speeds over 110kmh.
A Fenz spokesman said they received reports of fallen branches, and vegetation fires in St Andrews and Fairlie, which had been spread by the winds.
A heavy snow watch was in place for inland Canterbury, north of Castle Hill and the Kaikōura Ranges, from 11pm Thursday until 6am on Friday.
Snow is forecast from 300m, with heavier snow above 500m.