Civil Defence Update Wednesday 1 March 2017 11.25am
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Fire Update

• Over 99% of the fire perimeter area is now considered controlled with at least a 10 metre break between the edge of the fire zone and vegetation.

• There are 17 rural fire crews onsite today, plus an overhead team operating out of Rolleston. Crews continue to work on the ground to target hotspots, with a focus on targeting priority areas near unburnt vegetation or structures.

• Aerial thermal scanning is continuing to take place in the early morning to identify hotspots.

• Civil Defence is aware of some public concern about a hotspot in the Christchurch Adventure Park and you may note fire crews monitoring this overnight. If you are concerned and see smoke or fire please contact emergency services on 111.

Upcoming weather

• Weather conditions today and tomorrow are forecast to have moderate temperatures and moderate humidity levels and light to moderate winds. The weather forecast for Friday is for warmer temperatures, lower humidity and strong- moderate Nor’ West winds with predicted gusts of 40-60km per hour forecast.

• Given the weather forecast for Friday, residents within the fire perimeter will need to continue to be on alert and ready to leave the area if needed.

• Fire crews will continue their work targeting hot spots to reduce fire activity in preparation for Friday. While minor flare ups are possible due to the weather conditions, fire operations feel confident they will be able to be quickly extinguish any flare ups. Fire behaviour modelling has been undertaken to identify areas of potential fire escape. Priority areas near unburnt vegetation are being enhanced to create wider fire break buffer zones.

No-fly zone

• The no fly zone currently in place to allow for the aerial fire response will now be in place until 12 noon on Sunday 5 March, to allow drones and aircraft to continue to assist with efforts to identify and extinguish hotspots. The no fly zone is inside the area bound by Princess Margaret Hospital, Sugarloaf, Teddington, and Tai Tapu.

Kennedys Bush Road cordon

The Kennedys Bush Road cordon has been removed allowing public access to the road. Walking and biking tracks accessed from Kennedys Bush Road remain barricaded and there is no access to these at this time as fire operations continue.

Halswell Quarry

Halswell Quarry is continuing to be used as a staging area for fire crews and currently remains closed. There is no confirmed date for its reopening.

Dyers Pass Road works

Work continues today on removing a large number of burnt and unstable trees which are at risk of falling on the road. Contractors are also working to repair damaged marker posts and barriers.

Civil Defence are prioritising the work to get the road open but some restrictions are likely to remain once the road is reopened.

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