Change in weather brings relief for Canterbury fire crews fighting two blazes overnight

Friday, 18 September 2020

A cold change in the weather has brought much-needed relief to fire crews fighting two Canterbury scrub fires overnight.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) were alerted to a fire burning through tussock and scrub near Marble Point on Thursday afternoon.

Fenz spokesman Andrew Norris said the fire was believed to have burnt through about 50 hectares of scrub before it was contained about 10.30pm on Thursday.

At its peak, up to 40 firefighters were battling the blaze. Their efforts were initially hampered by strong winds and the fire caused nearby State Highway 7 in North Canterbury to close for about three hours.

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Wind warnings were in place for Canterbury through much of Thursday, with gusts reaching 106kmh in the Canterbury high country and 83kmh at Christchurch Airport.

The was completely extinguished by 11am on Friday.

Norris said snow had fallen in the area overnight, which helped crews with their efforts.

Two crews remained at the scene and were monitoring and extinguishing any remaining hotspots on Friday morning.

Later on Thursday, four Fenz crews were called to a fire burning in a 30-hectare plantation on Happy Valley Rd, near Motunau Beach, about 70km north of Christchurch. .

Eleven crews battled the blaze at its peak, but it was contained about 10.30pm on Thursday.

Fire crews returned to the scene to monitor and assess damages on Friday morning.

Norris said while there were still some hotspots about, the area had become very muddy so crews made the decision to return on Saturday to give the ground time to dry.

The plantation's owner would instead monitor the area.

The cause of both blazes was yet to be determined, but neither was believed to be suspicious, Norris said.

No properties were damaged and no-one was injured in either fire.

The Hanmer area was expecting about 5.6 millimetres of rainfall on Friday with a high of 13 degrees Celsius, according to MetService.

The Motunau area received about 8.6mm of rain on Thursday but further rainfall on Friday was not expected. A high of 14C was forecast with some southwesterly winds turning northwest in the late afternoon.