Rain does little to quell peat fires
Torrential rain and thunderstorms, which caused flooding across the North Island last week, have not stopped two fires that have been burning for months in the Far North.
The heavy rain hit Northland on March 20 and 21, causing flash flooding, road closures and slips in parts of the region.
Fire and Emergency NZ received more than 400 weather related call-outs in Northland, Auckland and Waikato on March 21, including at two Auckland supermarkets whose roofs were damaged and an Auckland CBD bar with more than $1m of damage.
But little of the rain fell in the top of the Far North, where two fires continue to burn.
The largest and most complex of these fires, at Waiharara, has been burning since December 18 and has burnt through nearly 2800ha of mostly wetland scrub in Kaimaumau.
Nearby residents were twice evacuated from their homes for their safety, but no structures were lost and the fire is now contained.
A second fire, at Karikari Peninsula, also continues to burn in peat after started on January 31 and burning 70ha of land.
A third fire, at Aranga, north of Dargaville, has been extinguished since March 4.
Wipari Henwood, Fire and Emergency NZ Far North area manager, said neither Waiharara nor Karikari got a lot of rain because of their geography.
‘‘There’s no great land masses surrounding them, and the weather just blows straight over the top,’’ he said.
‘‘There was rain up there, but nothing of significance.’’
The Northland Regional Council does not have a rain gauge at Waiharara, but its closest gauge at Waihopo recorded just 17.5mm on March 20 and 21.
In contrast, the Bay of Islands recorded nearly eight times as much – 135mm of rain, with 54mm falling in just one hour.
Henwood said the two fires are still causing concerns with the peat burning deeper than before, and no rain of significance forecast.
Fires are currently prohibited across all of Northland, and Fire and Emergency will review this setting, despite Omicron reducing numbers at some stations, he said.
‘‘The fire weather danger has decreased but underlying all this recent rain the Far North and west coast are still dry and in another couple of weeks we could be back to where we were.’’
With such variations in weather patterns across Northland, Fire and Emergency is considering creating six different zones across the region, which could have different fire rules depending on the risk, Henwood said.
But it was difficult to decide exactly where to draw the lines, as that could result in fires being allowed on one side of the road and prohibited on the other, he said.
‘‘We are looking to change it, hopefully before next season.’’
Climate change is expected to bring more powerful storms and more severe flooding, as warmer temperatures make New Zealand’s climate more turbulent.
The number of days with extreme fire danger is also expected to rise sharply between now and 2040, as climate change brings hotter and drier spells.