Fire bans for Canterbury after fierce wildfires
Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Fire restrictions are now in place throughout Canterbury, with the dry weather expected to continue for the next two months.
Canterbury District, which includes areas north of the Rakaia River, will move to a total fire ban until further notice.
The same rules apply for parts of inland mid-South Canterbury, in areas around Twizel and Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.
No open-air fires will be allowed and all fire permits will be suspended when a prohibited fire season comes into place at 11.59pm on Wednesday.
Mid-South Canterbury plains and coastal zones - including Fairlie, Geraldine, Ashburton and Methven - will move to a restricted fire season, meaning permits will be required for open fires.
There have been several fires in the region in recent weeks, particularly in parts of North Canterbury, where people were forced to evacuate their homes, several houses were destroyed, and dozens of hectares of vegetation was burned on different occasions.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand district commander Dave Stackhouse said there was little to no relief in the forecast for the next two months.
“Hot, dry, and windy weather is expected to continue, causing vegetation to dry out. In these conditions, fires spread quickly and are difficult to control,” he said.
“In four of the most recent fires across Canterbury, people were either evacuated or under prepare to evacuate orders”
The public is urged to take extreme care when doing any activities that may cause sparks, like mowing, welding, or driving vehicles in long dry grass.
Sparks from State Highway 1, likely caused by a strop or chain becoming loose on a vehicle and sagging along the road, is thought to be behind the wildfire that burned through 50ha of vegetation and several farm buildings at Domett in North Canterbury on Saturday.
The week prior, another fire in North Canterbury destroyed three homes - one of which was formerly a church - plus several buildings and multiple vehicles, including farm machinery.
In the short term though, rain will provide some relief for dry areas in Canterbury this week, with an active cold front travelling up the South Island and reaching the region Friday morning, MetService forecaster Ngaire Wotherspoon said.
That should bring scattered rain, strong winds, and a drop in temperatures from the 20s to the teens, and people would be able to “feel a difference” on Friday and Saturday, she said.
People were urged to go online to check what fire rules applied to their location and be prepared to evacuate their homes if they were affected by a wildfire, Stackhouse said.