Drivers warned exhausts could spark roadside fire
Drivers have been warned to be careful pulling over on the side of the road, as hot car exhausts could cause a fire amid the region’s hot, dry conditions.
Wairau Valley station officer Richard Peterson said driving conditions were ‘‘a bit dodgy’’, especially if the wind picked up.
‘‘Pulling over on the side of the road to answer a phone call could start a fire,’’ he said. ‘‘If the hot exhaust from the car comes in contact with the dry grass, that could set the entire place on fire, and the changing wind conditions would make that even worse.’’
A car towing a caravan crashed on State Highway 63 on Monday morning, and as a precaution, firefighters were ready with their hoses.
‘‘When police were removing the caravan off the road, we were standing by with the hoses in case it sparked,’’ Peterson said.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said Sunday was the fifth hottest day on record for February, reaching 34 degrees Celsius. The hottest day ever in February was in 1973, when the mercury hit 37.8C.
On Sunday night, Monday morning, the temperature was 21.2C.
Marlborough resident Jessica Simmons had started swimming during the day and taking cold showers at night to get to sleep.
‘‘It is a lot harder, very uncomfortable, but we have fans on and the windows wide open to make it a bit easier for us to fall asleep,’’ Simmons said.
Helen Sayers said she found Sunday night the hottest.
‘‘One of the reasons I moved from Sydney to Blenheim three years ago was to escape the extreme heat there, but it’s getting really warm here too,’’ Sayers said.
Noll said the run of hot weather was caused by warm winds coming from Australia, which again brought smoke from the bushfires, turning the sun and moon red.
Gusts on Tuesday night were expected to reach up to 70kmh, and possibly ‘‘up to 90 to 100kmh in hills and open areas’’, Noll said.
Canadian traveller Naima Karki, who recently came to New Zealand, said the start of the week resembled Canada’s hot weather, but she was enjoying it here.
‘‘Actually Canada is worse because it’s so humid, here [in Blenheim] it’s fine, not that humid and I like the weather here,’’ Karki said.