Gusts knocking branches onto power lines believed to have caused Canterbury fire
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Cantabrians need to be “hyper-vigilant” and keep their properties maintained to mitigate the risk of large fires as dry and windy conditions keep fire crews on their toes.
Twenty properties near Cass Bay were evacuated on Tuesday as three helicopters with monsoon buckets battled a fire that burned through 15 hectares of scrub in the hills above.
The blaze was contained by 5.30pm and residents were able to return home.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) principal rural fire officer Bruce Janes said while the Cass Bay fire was still under investigation, it was believed to have started after strong gusts caused tree branches to fall onto power lines.
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The blaze was one of several in Canterbury on Tuesday as strong winds of up to 130kmh fanned flames, lifted roofs, and damaged trees.
Janes said there were two other fires in the region on Tuesday, one in Kainga near Kaiapoi and another off Stoneyflat Rd in Loburn, North Canterbury, where fallen branches onto power lines also triggered fires.
“It’s very typical in the wind and that’s what we think we have – nothing suspicious.
Janes said the fire risk, particularly in the Port Hills, was typical for this time of year, but he urged Cantabrians to remain vigilant.
Fenz and police were increasing their focus on catching those flouting fire restrictions. As of Wednesday, Canterbury was in a restricted fire season, meaning a permit was needed for all open-air fires.
“Fenz and police are [putting] a lot more focus on catching these people who are flouting the rules, especially after Ōhau when we lost homes, we don't want any of that around Christchurch.”
He urged residents to check all past fires were completely extinguished and that any potential fuel like large logs or branches were removed from properties and were not too close to power lines.
“They’ll burn away and create embers, which will just fester away on the ground or just below ground level, sometimes for weekss,” he said.
According to Fenz’s national indices, the fire risk on the Port Hills remained high as of Tuesday afternoon.
Fenz assistant area commander Mike Bowden said the high risk was in part due to Christchurch’s “variable weather”, which had caused a lot of plant growth.
“There’s a lot of burnable grasses and scrub around this year, and we’re getting quite a lot of high wind days, which really magnifies the problem,” he said.
“Canterbury weather can turn on a dime – it could be raining on Monday and have critical weather conditions by Friday with a couple of nor'west days.”
It meant fire crews would aggressively attack any blazes.
“When the risks are high in Canterbury the fire spreads quickly and put people's whānau and property at risk, so we're really focused on aggressive attack and as fast as we can to keep them as small as possible.
“We just need people to be hyper-vigilant because the first line of defence is people’s commonsense.”
A fire caused by fireworks on December 11 burned through 25 to 30ha of scrub on the city side of the hills. A few days, later a spark from construction work caused another fire nearby, which spread across about 16ha of grass and gorse.
In February 2017, a huge blaze destroyed several homes and burnt through 1600ha of land on the Port Hills.
Check here to find out what fire restrictions are in place in your area.