Total fire ban for Christchurch, Port Hills, Banks Peninsula as risk becomes 'extreme'

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

A total fire ban for Christchurch, the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula has been issued as the fire risk reaches similar levels to those before the Port Hills fires two years ago.

The ban, which prohibits any outdoor fires in the open air being lit, comes into force at midnight on Tuesday.

The Waimakariri, Selwyn and Hurunui districts remain in a restricted fire season which meant only permitted fires could be lit.

Helicopters carrying monsoon buckets fighting the Nelson bush fires.

If the scorching hot weather continues, those areas were also expected to be in a total fire ban by the end of next week, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Christchurch metro area commander Dave Stackhouse said.

**READ MORE:

A firefighter works to contain a blaze at Walters Bluff, Nelson.

* Will forest fires become more likely in a warmer world? Yes - but it's complicated

* 'The potential is there' for another Port Hills fire disaster

The aftermath of the Port Hills fires in 2017.

* Port Hills fires, one year on: 'You'd think they would try to help us out'**

The ban comes almost two years to the day the Port Hills fires started, burning through 2000 hectares of bush, farmland and 11 houses, leaving a blackened landscape behind.

Thick black smoke caused by the Nelson bush fire.

Stackhouse said the risk in the city had become extreme, with Canterbury experiencing much drier weather than normal in the past six weeks.

'Our focus is on protecting life and property and with no significant rain forecast for the city, we have made the decision to move to a prohibited fire season.'

Smoke near Nelson caused by forest fires.

One way to measure fire risk was through a system called the Build-Up Index (BUI), which calculated how much fuel was available for a fire to burn in a given area, based on weather conditions.

For Christchurch and Selwyn, the current BUI values ranged from about 71 to just over 108.

Senior fire scientist Grant Pearce, of Crown research institute Scion, said values above 60 were usually high, 80 was very high, with 100 being extreme.

In the past 30 days, Christchurch city has seen an average temperature of about 26 degrees Celsius with just 27 millimetres of rain, according to MetService.

During this time, temperatures of 30C or more has been reached on seven different occasions with 33C being the highest recorded temperature.

Although open air fires are prohibited, gas-operated appliances, barbecues, wood-fire pizza ovens, hāngi's and umu's less than 2 metres in size were allowed.

Stackhouse said contractors using machinery or any equipment that could cause a spark should take extra care and look to minimise the risk of causing a fire.

The recent Nelson fires highlighted the need for the public to be prepared for any emergencies and to have a plan for their family and their animals, he said.

It was important people removed combustible materials from their yards and have hoses and sprinklers available, he said.

'All these things help to channel fire from direct burning and ember transport.'

Stackhouse said people should remain vigilant and have escape plans. If they see smoke or fire they should ring 111 immediately.

For any further information of fire safe guidelines people can visit www.checkitsalright.nz