Adventure Park falls victim to Port Hills fire
Thursday, 15 February 2024
Trees and ziplines at the Christchurch Adventure Park have been damaged by the Port Hills fire, forcing its closure for the foreseeable future.
The park is currently behind a police cordon as dozens of firefighters on the ground and in the air fight to get the devastating blaze under control. A local state of emergency remains in place.
The fire broke out at 2.15pm on Wednesday - seven years to the day since the 2017 Port Hills inferno, and in the same Worsleys Spur and Early Valley area.
It has since ravaged at least 630 hectares of land, much in the Worsleys Rd area, and forced the evacuation of at least 80 properties. One container home has also been lost.
It is not yet under control, and at one point crossed Summit Rd to the Governor’s Bay side, though authorities believed that posed a more minor concern.
Canterbury Civil Defence group controller Richard Ball said while the smoke may appear to be diminishing, it was not a sign the fire was over.
“There’s no room for complacency.”
Residents forced from their homes were told on Thursday they would face at least a second night away.
However, some have now been allowed back.
Early Valley Rd resident Bronwyn Munro told The Press “It’s great to be back,” after returning to her house.
Munro was initially allowed to pop home at lunchtime to feed her cats, who were stressed by the multiple helicopters flying overhead.
She and her family were allowed back home permanently on Thursday afternoon.
“Our cats were very scared because of the helicopters flying over us,” she said, “so it’s good that they’re not alone anymore.”
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said at 4.15pm cordons were being shifted in Hoon Hay Valley Rd and Early Valley Rd to the last house on the road, and that all residents of these roads could return.
“Residents of Worsley Rd who need urgent access to retrieve items from their home will need to go to the community hub at the corner of Worsley Rd and McVicar Rd before nightfall. We cannot grant access after dark.”
Being able to return to his Hoon hay Valley property after a night fearing the fire would be uncontrollable was an “absolute relief” for one resident who was at a community meeting on Thursday night at the Te Hāpua Halswell Centre.
One resident, who didn’t want to be named, told The Press that being able to return to his Hoon Hay Valley property after a night fearful that “the fire was going to be uncontrollable”, was an “absolute” relief.
A check of his property earlier on Thursday showed it was unscathed other than part of a fence being bulldozed for a fire break.
The 2017 Port Hills fire stopped just 5m from his home and the 1989 fire destroyed one wall of his garage. This time the fire threat seemed to be around 100m away from his property but he felt “very safe this time … Only because of the firefighters - they’ve done an incredible job.”
Remarkable effort
Despite the size of the fire - which at one point had a perimeter of 14 kilometres and was being tackled by 27 trucks, 14 helicopters and two planes, very little property has been lost as fire crews’ efforts surpass the 24-hour mark.
Anna Sparks, 36, says her container home was incinerated by the flames, and two garages or shed-like structures have reportedly been damaged.
Fenz regional manager Brad Mosby commended their work as remarkable.
“For our fire crews to be protecting those people’s properties and still haven't lost a home, [it] is a true credit to them and their efforts.”
Among those evacuated was Early Valley Rd resident Stevie Farrant, who went to a briefing at the Halswell Community Centre on Thursday to hear updates on the efforts to tackle the fire.
Farrant said the 2017 blaze had ripped through her entire farmland, but this time they had their newly built home on it so were feeling “way more stressed”.
Now staying with her family at another relative’s home, she said she had no idea how close the fire had come to her property, and hoped to be able to go and check on the animals on the farm to make sure they had water.
“It’s hard not knowing if the house is OK or if it’s full of smoke or if the animals are OK.”
Photographs taken inside the fire cordon at the top of Worsleys Road on Thursday afternoon revealed the extent of the devastation, the land a graveyard of skeletal trees and blackened land.
Dense white smoke hung thick in the air above the hills for much of Thursday, and there were warnings a change in wind direction in the evening to come from the south could send smoke over the city.
There was a little rain in the air over Worsleys Rd on Thursday afternoon, but it was not expected to be enough to help with firefighting efforts.
Adventure Park damaged
Flames and thick plumes of smoke were seen coming from both sides of the Christchurch Adventure Park lift on Thursday.
Residents gathered at the top of Bengal Drive with binoculars as thick smoke and flames engulfed the trees - a similar sight to what they witnessed seven years ago.
The adventure park said on Thursday afternoon that trees at the top of the hill within its boundaries and some of the ziplines had been damaged, and the park would consequently be closed until further notice.
However, the lift infrastructure is not believed to have been affected, and the chairlifts were removed on Wednesday. The village is also currently unscathed.
“Customers who have booked zipline tours within the next two weeks, and pass holders, will be contacted directly via email today.
“There is a police cordon surrounding the park and the perimeter of the fire – please respect this and allow the emergency responders to get on with the task at hand.”
The park is due to host the Crankworx mountain bike festival from March 1 to 3, but no decision has been made about whether that will now go ahead.
The speed of the response was hailed as “world-class” from multiple support agencies. Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger said it was a “much better response with many lessons learned” from the 2017 fire.
While the flames had breached Summit Rd, Mosby said that was a lesser concern.
“It has gone over the back of the hill down towards Governor’s Bay, but [from] what I understand the commanders on scene are comfortable it’s not spreading too quickly down there because of the greener pastures,” he said on Thursday afternoon.
“So our concerns are around the Summit Rd area and making sure we have good fire breaks in place and crews are protecting those communities.”
Fenz personnel allowed farmers access to manage their stock on Thursday, and Early Valley Rd residents were escorted to their properties to deal with pets, livestock, and medication for an hour at lunchtime.
A community meeting would be held for affected residents at 7pm at the Te Hāpua Halswell Centre.
Meanwhile, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden briefly visited the fire command headquarters at Christchurch's justice precinct on Thursday, but said she did not have time to talk to affected residents.
“I’m responsible for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, so I went to see how the team is working on the ground and to be in the surrounding areas of the fire and to see the response in action.”
Police have also criticised “disaster tourists” who have interfered with firefighting efforts by blocking roads around the Port Hills fire.
They have also asked anyone with photographs or videos of the area between 1.45pm and 2.45pm on Wednesday - around the time it started - to send them to PortHills2024Photos@fireandemergency.nz with their name and contact details, when they were taken and where from.
Health authorities have also issued warnings about smoke for those with breathing problems, and 20 properties in Marleys Hill, near the junction at the top of Worsleys Rd and Summit Rd, were left without power on Thursday because of the fire.
Firefighters doing a ‘great job’
A retired volunteer firefighter with nearly 20 years of service under his belt was at a loss when he learned of the blaze.
Former Lyttelton volunteer chief firefighter Mark Buckley hung up his hard hat just two weeks ago, which he called “impeccable timing”.
“I am a bit empty inside about not being there and helping.”
But it was a lot easier in some ways, he said, being able to concentrate on his full-time job with a “clear head and no other honourable tasks”.
His thoughts went out to the firefighters “who have to once again, potentially put their lives at risk to protect lives and property … and all those people having to re-evacuate” during the horror 2017 Port Hills fires.
It was a “funny situation“ for volunteer firefighters, he said, with employers allowing time off or days to recover from working through the night, at their discretion.
“Some employers pay for firefighters time off, some don’t.”
His message to the crews was that they were doing “a great job, keep on doing the good work and stay safe“.
‘Here we go again’
Worsleys Rd resident Grant Poultney's house narrowly escaped the flames in 2017 and was one of the closest to the fire again this time.
Poultney expected to get only “a few minutes” of access on Thursday.
“[I’m] going to shift some stock around,” he said.
Dominique Leeming, who lives at the top of Worsleys Rd, near Summit Rd, was “crossing her fingers and toes” her home escaped the flames a second time.
She and her partner left in a hurry on Wednesday afternoon. “We just threw things into bags,” she said. “I’ve got the laptop charger. I haven’t found the laptop yet.
Leeming attended a meeting for evacuees in Halswell on Thursday morning. There was no word on when they might be allowed back. Most importantly, she had her three dogs and cat with her.
“We were out for two weeks last time. Hopefully it’s not that long… The [emergency] response has been way better than last time.”
Leeming’s home had a near miss in the 2017 Port Hills fire. “We were really lucky. The fire got just across the road from our house. We were very grateful to all the firefighters.”
When Worsleys Rd resident Dave Bailey first heard about the fire he thought “here we go again”.
However, it did not feel like as much of a threat as the one that raged in the area seven years ago.
He and his family evacuated about 7pm on Wednesday and stayed with family in Halswell. Many others chose to stay, he said.
Before he left, he took the cover off the pool, so helicopter crews could fill their monsoon buckets from it.
The emergency response to the fire this time was nothing like the one seven years ago, Bailey said.
“The response is a lot more co-ordinated this time. Fire, police, Civil Defence and council are working really well together.
“There were choppers in the air within an hour. Within 30 minutes it was all on.”
His home suffered mainly smoke damage during the last fire.
The fire was all too familiar for Christchurch couple Doug and Vikki Pflaum.
The pair moved into their new Worsleys Rd home only about five weeks ago. Their previous home was destroyed in the last Port Hills fire seven years ago.
“It was the second Wednesday in February again. It’s a bit deja vu in lots of ways,” Doug Pflaum said.
Vikki Pflaum, was on her way home when she heard about the evacuation order and once again had the job of loading up the car with family photo albums and other items.
An electrician and a builder were at the house and they cut down three or four small eucalyptus trees nearby.
Doug Pflaum said they were small saplings that had grown since the last fire..
“I’m just hoping to get back up there.”
Lady Polson Lane resident Mike Hancock had been up since 4am checking on the fire. He had bags packed and the car ready to go if need be.
“You just have to be ready to do a runner. The property comes second.”
Hancock remembered standing in the same place seven years ago. “We just hope the wind will hold off.”
Gerry Sullivan and his wife Sarah were there at 12am when “huge” gusts of wind pushed the flames towards the Adventure Park.
They felt “sick” watching it all unfold, Gerry Sullivan said.
“We’re just so sad for the Adventure Park. It’s such a cool place. It’s heartbreaking to watch.”
Canterbury District, which includes areas north of the Rakaia River, is under a total fire ban until further notice.