‘Plumes of smoke’ on maunga just dust
Onlookers watched ‘‘plumes of smoke’’ rise from Taranaki Maunga this week, with dozens posting to social media, some calling the Department of Conservation, and one phoning the fire service.
But there was no fire.
The smoke-looking clouds were simply dust caused by ‘‘wind and very dry conditions’’, senior ranger Dave Rogers said.
The plumes were coming from the Pyramid Stream near the seaside of the mountain, which in the summer months has no water running through. The same happens with the Oaonui Stream.
Rogers said the Pyramid Stream is ‘‘a big bare canyon’’ with cliffs 60-100 feet high, and this time of year all the debris in the stream bed dries out.
And when the wind picks up, that debris is ‘‘funnelled’’ out.
‘‘They come out like a plume of smoke,’’ Rogers said. ‘‘Locals would have seen it plenty of times.’’
On Tuesday, Rogers was in the middle of writing an alert to be sent out to the public about the dust.
‘‘We’re getting a number of calls,’’ he said.
‘‘People keep calling and saying there’s a fire. But we can best believe it’s just dust.’’
Rogers said over the years they had received ‘‘dozens’’ of calls.
In 2010, a collapse at the Pyramid Stream – near the headwaters of the Stony River – created such a dust cloud that many people thought the volcano was erupting.
At the time, Taranaki Daily News photographer Cameron Burnell, who trekked up to the area, said there were ‘‘immense amounts of dust’’.
Monday marked the first calls this summer, Rogers said.
‘‘It’s probably the first time it’s been that noticeable.’’
While DOC could set people straight, Rogers said they were not the right organisation to phone.
‘‘If people believe it’s a fire, they’ve got to ring 111.’’
And, at about 3pm on Monday, one person did.
The Okato branch of Fire and Emergency New Zealand were tasked to what someone believed was smoke on the Pouakai Ranges, near where it joined to the mountain.
But the brigade stood themselves down from the job five minutes later, as they knew it was not a fire.
‘‘People don’t need to be alarmed by it – it’s a natural occurrence,’’ Rogers added. ‘‘If it stays dry, you’re going to see a lot of it.’’