‘Extreme’ fire risk sparks ban
A total fire ban for Christchurch, the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula has been issued as the fire risk reaches similar levels to those before the Port Hills fires two years ago.
The ban, which prohibits any outdoor fires in the open air being lit, is in force from this morning. The Waimakariri, Selwyn and Hurunui districts remain in a restricted fire season which meant only permitted fires could be lit.
If the scorching hot weather continues, those areas were also expected to be in a total fire ban by the end of next week, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Christchurch metro area commander Dave Stackhouse said.
The ban comes almost two years since the Port Hills fires burned through 2000 hectares of bush, farmland and 11 houses.
Stackhouse said the risk in the city had become extreme, with Canterbury experiencing much drier weather than normal in the past six weeks.
‘‘Our focus is on protecting life and property and with no significant rain forecast for the city, we have made the decision to move to a prohibited fire season.’’
In the past 30 days, Christchurch city has seen an average temperature of about 26 degrees Celsius with just 27 millimetres of rain, according to MetService.
Although open air fires are prohibited, gas-operated appliances, barbecues, wood-fire pizza ovens, ha¯ngi’s and umu’s less than 2 metres in size were allowed.
The recent Nelson fires highlighted the need for the public to be prepared for any emergencies, Stackhouse said.