Rising fire risk leads to ban in city reserves

Fire risk is on the increase in Nelson, resulting in a total fire ban in all council parks and reserves.

The Nelson City Council said yesterday that precautions needed to be taken, including people avoiding reserves or parts of reserves that had a high risk.

The council said signs would be put up on ‘‘well-used trails’’ to alert people to the risks, and recommended that they use higher-risk reserves in the early morning or in the evening only.

‘‘Please avoid high fire risk areas, such as reserves with forest or dense vegetation, in the afternoon, when conditions are at their warmest.’’

It also ‘‘strongly’’ advised that people in more mountainous reserves stick to the lower reaches, ‘‘for ease of evacuation in the case of a fire’’. ‘‘There is now a complete fire ban in all parks and reserves. Please take note of this advice for your own safety, and if you see signs of smoke or fire in any reserves, please call 111 immediately,’’ the council said.

It said last year’s wet spring encouraged growth which was now drying out and providing potential fuel for fires, along with the drying out of top layers of soil.

The Build Up Index (BUI), which gives an indication of the difficulty of extinguishing a fire, has climbed to 60.

If the BUI reaches 80, the city council will ‘‘be seeking FENZ advice’’ on whether to close higherrisk reserves, and at 100 all reserves will be closed.

The last significant rainfall in the Nelson area was around December 17, when just over 100 millimetres fell over a period of three days, and there is no apparent relief on the horizon.

The Metservice extended forecast indicates a mostly sunny week ahead, with steady temperatures in the 20-25 degrees C range.