Flyover to assess Marlborough fire risk
a number of emails from locals.’’
It was relatively easy to close a campground, but it was much harder to close a reserve, he said.
‘‘But I guess the biggest worry is that, what do those 50 to 80 campers a night, where do they go?’’
Bradfield said he was concerned that if the campground was closed, campers would go looking for places to go freedom camping, where they would be less contained.
On Sunday, the road through Molesworth Station closed to the public due to ‘‘extreme’’ fire risk. A campsite in the station was also closed.
Bradfield said they would be guided by advice from FENZ on whether to close the Marfells Beach campground.
Cape Campbell farmer Sally Peter was calling for the Marfells Beach campsite, which is near her farm, to close until the fire risk was less of a threat.
‘‘It’s as big a risk as it is at Molesworth or Rainbow, there’s no distinction.’’
In the last six months, they had found little camp fires on the coast near the campground, she said.
‘‘It’s distressing in the least. Until it rains, it should be closed and all care should be taken by everyone.’’
There was a lot of traffic going through the Marfells Beach campground which had become increasingly popular since the 2016 earthquake, she said.
Pinoli Limited director Andrew Wiltshire, who farms pine nuts in the area, said crops, and potentially lives, were at risk.
Two years ago, ‘‘joy riders’’ lit fireworks on Marfells Beach which caused a fire on his property. The fire spread up the hill and wiped out some of their trees, he said.
‘‘Just by chance it drizzled that night, otherwise it would have been a lot worse. This is not just a hypothetical issue.
‘‘We know that most campers are extremely responsible people but there’s always a few who don’t make the best choices.’’
Wiltshire said it was a ‘‘reasonable question’’ to ask whether or not the campsite should be closed.
Wairau-awatere ward councillor Geoff Evans said he had been hearing concerns from farmers all over the province.
‘‘Everyone is really concerned at the tinder dry-like conditions that we have at the moment.
‘‘If they can close down the road through Molesworth, which they have . . . it’s not too big a call to close down the coastal area where it is so dry.’’