Festival flames despite ban
The use of a flamethrower at a festival near Nelson during a fire ban in the region will be investigated, says Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).
The Dystopia Outdoor Music Festival was held at Blue Hole in the Cobb Valley in Upper Takaka over the weekend and videos posted on the event’s Facebook page show a flamethrower and fire poi being used.
A fire ban is in place across the region because of the extreme risk from a long, dry spell. Firefighters are still battling the Pigeon Valley fire, 25km southwest of Nelson city, which has covered 2300 hectares. It’s about 50km away from Upper Takaka, over the Takaka Hill.
In one video posted on Facebook, flames can be seen shooting skywards from a flamethrower mounted on a ute.
Police did not attend the festival but said in a statement they were aware of the use of flamethrowers at the event.
A FENZ spokesman said it would be investigating fire-related activities at Dystopia and expected to discuss them with event organisers.
‘‘We are extremely concerned about risky activities with fire, given the current fire risk conditions in the area which is in a prohibited fire season.
‘‘The current response to the Pigeon Valley fire near Richmond demonstrates how serious the potential consequences can be.’’
No 111 calls, or any reports of injuries or property damage were received in relation to the event.
FENZ has enforcement powers under its legislation but the spokesman said it was too early to say if or how any of them would be used.
Takaka Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Philip Woolf said he hadn’t been notified of the event directly, but had been told about it by the rural fire network in Nelson.
‘‘We’d been monitoring it pretty closely. We were geared to respond, but thankfully we weren’t needed.’’
Woolf said given the current fire risk in the region, people needed to remain ‘‘totally vigilant’’ to all forms of fire.
‘‘Any form of ignition needs to be treated carefully.’’
Tickets to the outdoor festival cost $60 on the gate and the event ran from 7pm on Friday until 10pm on Sunday.