More fire restrictions put in place as risk increases
Three areas in Nelson Tasman have moved into a prohibited fire season as fire risk increases.
The Coastal, Waimea and Nelson North zones moved into a prohibited fire season at 6am on Saturday and the restrictions remain in place until further notice.
Grant Haywood, the district manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, said no outdoor fires were allowed and all fire permits were suspended. Hot and dry weather, with above-average winds and below-average rainfall, meant the fire danger had increased, he said.
“We’ve had a heavy buildup of grass across these areas following the wet winter and spring which have now dried out and
is posing a significant fire risk,” Haywood said. “These are the conditions where wildfires start easily and can quickly get very difficult to control.”
Haywood used the Lee Valley fire on February 7, which started from sparks igniting roadside grass and spread into forestry as an example of how easily fires can start.
The Lee Valley blaze took four days to bring under control, and initially forced the evacuation of 11 homes.
“While a prohibited fire season should reduce the likelihood of unwanted fires, we have a history of large, fast-moving fires in the area at this time of year and we’re asking people to make sure they are prepared,” Hawyood said.
“This is particularly important for people living in rural areas and on the edges of towns where the potential for fires to start and spread quickly to adjacent properties is very high.”
In 2019, one of the country’s largest fires, near Wakefield, southwest of Nelson, was sparked by an agricultural contractor using a disc plough in a rocky paddock.
The Pigeon Valley fire eventually burned around 2300ha of commercial plantation forest, property and pastures, and had a final perimeter of 35km. A home and shed were also lost in the fire.
Haywood urged people to be cautious and not do activities that will pose fire risks like mowing lawns, welding, and driving through long grass. However, if work must be done that could generate sparks, Haywood asked that it be done in the morning when it was still cool.
Haywood said people can take steps to defend their homes from fires, such as clearing flammable material from at least 10 metres around the perimeter of buildings, moving firewood stacked against homes, cleaning gutters, trimming trees and keeping their grass short using a trimmer with a nylon line.