100 calls and two investigations: What smoked out Christchurch?

Wednesday, 9 April 2025

Firefighters battled a warehouse fire at Maces Rd in Bromley on Monday afternoon, after a controlled burn had already smoked out large parts of the city.

The controlled burn-off that blanketed Christchurch in smoke, evacuated QEII and kept students indoors on Monday was connected to an entertainment company.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) said it was investigating the burn-off after “many people were adversely affected by the smoke”.

Smoke was relentless across large parts of the city on Monday because of two fires: a controlled burn-off next to Bottle Lake Forest Park that battered eastern and northern suburbs with smoke in the morning, and another fire after lunch in Bromley when a large warehouse went up in flames.

The smoke from the controlled burn-off was visible across east and north Christchurch.

There was widespread frustration about the smell and health impacts from the smoke. Environment Canterbury said it received more than 100 calls relating to smoke on Monday. Of those, 15 people were concerned about their health.

Papanui mother Jasmine, who only gave her first name, said her son, who suffers from asthma, was “struggling to breathe” on their routine walk at 11am. They turned around and headed home after a short walk because “we could hardly see the end of the street [the smoke] was that bad”.

A Parklands resident said a “thick blanket of visible smoke” surrounded her home around 10am. The woman shut doors, windows and put a face mask on in a room with a fan after getting a headache and feeling nauseous. She kept coughing and later vomited. “The fact they announced the burn-offs were being carried out in a safe way had my eyes rolling.”

An Opawa resident said the “air was thick, tasted and smelt like plastic” when they arrived home at 4pm after picking up their child at a nearby daycare centre that kept all the children inside because of the smoke.

A walkthrough inside the burnt Christchurch warehouse shows the aftermath of Monday’s fire. Crews are still working to fully extinguish the blaze and monitor smoke risk.

“Large pieces of ash - thin plastic about 5cm by 2cm - had floated to our driveway,” they said. “I was light-headed.”

So what was behind them?

While the Bromley fire in a multi-occupancy warehouse building was contained and returned to the building owner on Tuesday, the investigation was ongoing. The building housed a business importing and supplying goods to $2 shops which was destroyed, a woolpacks and a battery recycling business.

The controlled burn-off on private property on Lower Styx Rd, surrounded by Bottle Lake Forest, was intended to clear the site for the Rolling Meadows music festival in December, said a Christchurch City Council spokesperson.

Rolling Meadows is a New Year's Eve festival in North Canterbury at The Bone Line winery near Amberley.

But entertainment company Sub180, which owns several music festivals in New Zealand including Rolling Meadows, said the burn-off did not mean Rolling Meadows was moving location.

The festival is based in the Waipara River Valley and attracted 10,000 fans last year.

A Sub180 spokesperson said the surrounding community was notified of the planned three-week controlled burns with door knocks, and listed notifications on the Fire and Emergency and council websites and social media.

They said as it is an open fire season with no restrictions and the communityhad been notified, no-one had done anything wrong.

It was “beneficial for the community to get rid of that fire hazard”, the spokesperson said.

The smoke over the east of Christchurch on Monday from a controlled burn-off.

“It was potentially a festival site in the future, that’s not a confirmation either, just because they’ve done a burn-off doesn’t mean it’s going to ever be a festival site.”

It was “not unusual” for the company to be scoping out possible new festival venues, they said.

A fire in an industrial building in Maces Rd, Bromley in Christchurch sent billowed smoke across the city. ⁠

Environment Canterbury urban compliance team leader Lauren Hamilton said “piles of waste vegetation were being burned” at the burn-off site and no toxic or hazardous material was observed.

“We were concerned about the reports of smoke from across the city, so compliance officers visited the site to investigate,” Hamilton said.

They advised the land manager how to minimise smoke and to explore alternative options for managing future waste.

“Controlled burning on properties over two hectares is allowed. However, we are aware it is a nuisance for neighbours and adds to air pollution. We encourage alternatives such as composting, mulching, using kerb-side collection services or visiting a transfer station,” Hamilton said.

“We are still investigating [the] incident so can’t comment further. We are aware that many people were adversely affected by the smoke, and this will be considered as part of the investigation.”

Health New Zealand said it was not concerned about the smoke’s toxicity, but that smoke inhalation poses risk of exacerbating existing chronic health conditions.

“People who are sensitive to smoke – such as those with heart or lung conditions, people who are pregnant, young children and the elderly – may experience symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath or eye, nose and throat irritation,“ said Dr Ramon Pink, the medical officer of health for the national public health service.

There were no presentations to the ED due to the smoke, but people were reminded to remain indoors with pets, switch air conditioning to recirculate, and contact a GP or Healthline for advice if they were concerned.

Fire and Emergency was aware of the smoke issue from the controlled burn-off in the Spencerville/Marshlands area, said assistant commander Steve Kennedy.

“It was not conducted by Fire and Emergency, but Fire and Emergency personnel provided advice to the landowner,” Kennedy said.

The Canterbury Fire District (north of the Rakaia River) is currently in an open fire season, which means a fire permit is not required.