Extreme fire risk in most parts of NZ
The nationwide fire risk has skyrocketed, with fire season restrictions across the entire North Island.
The North Island and most of the South Island are now in either a prohibited or restricted fire season, Fire and Emergency NZ announced yesterday.
Wellington has also declared a restricted season, which came into effect at 8am today.
Rural Fire manager Tim Mitchell said the hot and dry conditions had created extreme fire risk, including in areas such as Northland, Auckland and Waikato, which hadn’t traditionally experienced such extreme fire danger for an extended period.
‘‘If you are in an area where there is a prohibited fire season, there is a total fire ban. No fires are permitted, including rubbish fires.
‘‘If you are in an area where there is a restricted fire season, you will require a permit if you need to light a fire. You may also have to comply with specific conditions.’’
The fire seasons can change with weather forecasts and conditions.
Mitchell said all New Zealanders were urged to be careful and take precautions to prevent a fire starting or getting out of control.
‘‘It only takes one spark to start a fire, so don’t risk it. Some routine activities, like driving vehicles through roadside vegetation or machinery work, can cause a fire in these extremely dry conditions.
‘‘If you have to, use any machinery that could spark such as lawnmowers, welding, or even a plough, in the morning or evenings – during the cooler parts of the day.
He also advised people to make sure any permitted fires or historic burn sites from the past two months were fully extinguished.
According to Niwa, drought conditions in parts of Northland, Auckland and Waikato are now as severe as in early 2013, one of New Zealand’s worst droughts on record. The upper North Island – Northland in particular – is experiencing widespread severe meteorological drought.
The Far North towns of Kaikohe and Kaitaia have been critically low on water, after a record hot and dry 2019 was topped by drought conditions this year. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has declared an adverse event in drought-stricken Northland.
Auckland is set to break a record for the region’s longest dry spell, according to Niwa forecasters. Tomorrow, it will be 40 consecutive days since the region last had rainfall, breaking the previous record of 39 days, set in 2013.
Much of the rest of the country is unusually dry, except for the western and lower South Island.
A Rarangi woman has described the scary sight of flames ‘‘high in the skyline’’ as a large scrub fire ripped through steep terrain near her Marlborough home.
Robyn O’Donnell said the Monkey Bay fire, which forced the evacuation of the Whites Bay campground, could have been ‘‘devastating’’ had it got over the hill into forestry blocks.
‘‘We are so thankful we have got helicopters these days; if a fireman had to go up there, that could have been very dangerous,’’ O’Donnell said. ‘‘It is very, very steep up there. We are lucky we have got a good water supply alongside [us].’’
Six helicopters were collecting water from the sea off Rarangi Beach yesterday morning.
Marlborough Kaiko¯ura principal rural fire officer John Foley said he thought the fire covered about 4 hectares but, given its location, he could not be sure.
Firefighters who tackled the fire from the ground yesterday morning were replaced by 20 fresh firefighters about 10am.
Some firefighters would stay at Rarangi overnight to monitor the area, Foley said.
Port Underwood Rd was closed but firefighters had stopped the flames reaching the road, he said.
The cause of the fire was still unknown. It could have been a lot worse had it not been for so much green native bush in the area, Foley said.
There was no immediate risk to property or life.
Marlborough was under a total fire ban, Foley said. The fire comes days after the region’s biggest fire of the season, near Taylor Dam in Blenheim.
That fire, at Meadowbank Station, spread across 20ha.
About 35 campers were moved from Whites Bay to Robin Hood Bay in the early hours of yesterday morning as a precaution. They were allowed back at Whites Bay by 2.30pm. Rarangi campground was not evacuated, despite initial reports. Walking tracks in the area were closed.
Another Rarangi resident, Donna Lee, said she heard sirens about 1am and she woke to the smell of smoke.
After seeing the glow and the smoke over the hill, which was directly outside her house, Lee started to discuss an evacuation plan with her husband.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said the weather was expected to be dry for the next couple of days but the wind would change direction overnight.