Rising fire risk sees city reserves closed

Increasing fire risk has closed several reserves around Nelson.

The Nelson City Council said yesterday the decision was made after taking advice from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

Six reserves have been closed, including the Sir Stanley Whitehead Reserve, which was burned at the same time as the Pigeon Valley wildfire near Wakefield last year.

The council had been monitoring the Build Up Index (BUI), a measure of the difficulty of suppressing a fire, and said earlier in January that at a BUI of 80, it would consult with FENZ about whether to close reserves. It said yesterday this point had been reached.

‘‘The BUI is now well over 80, the level at which FENZ advises which reserves should close, and is expected to be close to 100 midway through next week.’’

The council said that when the BUI reached 100, ‘‘full reserve closures will be implemented’’.

The reserves to be closed are the Grampians, Sir Stanley Whitehead, Marsden Valley, Maitai Water, Brook Conservation and Roding Water reserves.

‘‘Closures will come into effect from midnight Friday 31 January. Signage will be in place at all the closed areas, and the public is asked to please stay out of these areas for your own safety.’’

The closures also affect access to the Coppermine Trail and the Maungatapu Track.

Though other reserves are still open, the council is recommending that people stay in low, easy-toaccess areas, and avoid the reserves at the riskiest times of day.

‘‘The key risk is around the safety of people being caught in the reserves should a fire break out,’’ the council said. ‘‘With the dry conditions, prevailing winds, slope and nature of the vegetation, a fire would spread uphill extremely quickly, making evacuation difficult.

‘‘People visiting larger reserves that remain open . . . are strongly advised to stay in the lower areas for ease of evacuation in the case of a fire.

‘‘Avoiding the reserves in high fire risk times such as midafternoon, when conditions are warmest, is also recommended.’’

The council said it would assess the situation weekly, and make further decisions on further closures with FENZ consultation.