Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Waikari Valley And Port Hills Fires Update

Firefighters finished their last shift on the Waikari Valley fireground today and the land has been handed back to the owners.

Incident Commander Des Irving says that the crews extinguished the last of the hotspots that the drone crew had found with thermal imaging.

He thanked all the volunteer firefighters who had been working hard over the last few days, often on steep terrain. He also thanked the local community around the fireground for their support.

At the Port Hills fireground, firefighters extinguished most of the remaining hotspots today.

Three crews will be working overnight, and the drone crew will continue their thermal imaging flights.

The weather is expected to be dry and windy over the next few days, and particularly on Saturday, so the fire danger is still high. Des Irving is asking people to remember the total fire ban in Canterbury north of the Rakaia River and to ring 111 at the first sign of smoke.

Any fire that started under the current conditions would spread quickly and be hard for crews to put out so Fire an Emergency is asking everyone to do their part to prevent any more fires starting. This means avoiding high-risk activities that generate sparks, or waiting until the coolest part of the day.

High-risk activities include:

  • Using equipment that generate sparks, or where blades can strike a stone and cause a spark (eg welders, grinders, mowers, chainsaws).
  • Parking vehicles in long grass - hot exhausts can start a fire.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

Featured News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.