FULL REPORT AND INFOGRAPHIC
Plumes of smoke billow over blackened stretches of land on the edges of our second-largest city
The sound of the helicopters was constant over the Port Hills in Christchurch yesterday as desperate fire crews continued to battle the deadly blaze. The blades chugging through the air, the orange buckets full of muchneeded water dangling beneath them as they went back and forth across the skyline hour after hour.
Now spanning more than 2075 hectares, the fire appeared less fierce, but the efforts to douse it did not diminish.
It has claimed one life — helicopter pilot Steve Askin — and resulted in two people being treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and a third for an evacuation injury.
The blaze has destroyed at least 11 houses, forced the evacuation of 1000 people from about 450 homes and has been fought long and hard by more than 390 firefighters on the ground — 62 crews with 190 pumps and tankers and 26 rural fire crews — 14 helicopters and three planes. And still, it burns. The Port Hills fire was made up of two blazes, the first igniting on Monday along Early Valley Rd In Lansdowne, followed by a second in a car park off Summit Rd at Marley Hill. Yesterday it merged into one.
Thick plumes of smoke billowed out of the tinder-dry pine trees that dress the hills, rolling in waves across the landscape.
Residents and onlookers flocked to Bengal Drive in Cashmere, a cul-de-sac with the best publicly accessible view of the fire and efforts to put it out. The street winds uphill and at the top, there was a clear view of the main fire.
Several nervous evacuees asked the Herald to take photos of their properties using a zoom lens in a desperate bid to see what — if anything — was still standing on their land. They said they had been given no indication about when they could return home and survey the damage.
Authorities said last night that exactly how many properties had been damaged by the smoke, heat and flames, would not be known until the “emergency had ended”.
The chopper pilots downed tools as night fell last night, unable to fly in the dark, but crews of firefighters, including many volunteers, worked through the night to try to reclaim the Port Hills.
They may be helped today, with weather forecasters predicting occasional drizzle.
The exact cause of the inferno is yet to be determined.
But Prime Minister Bill English, after visiting the fire command unit in Christchurch yesterday, announced he had been given a brief description that two fires had started at the same time.
“Which to someone like me looks suspicious, but again, those investigations are under way,” he said.
English said he had been told the high danger of yesterday had eased and the fire was contained, but not controlled.
Affected residents told the Herald they were angry at the length of time it took to declare a state of emergency — with some saying fire crews had missed “golden opportunities”.
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel and Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton have defended their handling of the fire after Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee criticised how long it took to declare a state of emergency.
English said he did not want to get into a debate on “that process stuff”.
“I don’t think the average Kiwi is going to be looking at whether the bureaucratic process was as precise as it should have been,” he said. “They’re going to be looking at the efforts of these pilots of these aircraft, who are taking real risks.”
Tragically, the risks Askin, 37, took had a deadly ending. His family, including wife, Elizabeth and children aged 7 and 4, will farewell him in a service on Monday. A Givealittle page has been set up to help. He was awarded the NZ Gallantry Star for his efforts fighting for the SAS in Afghanistan. As of last night donations had topped $105,000.
Support for Christchurch also came in the form of a Facebook campaign, with users changing their profile picture to a an orange heart on a black background.
AChristchurch couple who were told that their dream hillside home was lost in the deadly Port Hills blaze, just hours after finally getting contents insurance, appear to have had a lucky escape.
James Frost, 34, had his house badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake and later moved to Australia where he worked for a not-for-profit disability group.
He moved back to New Zealand recently and last month moved into his dream home on Worsleys Rd overlooking the Garden City and across the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps.
“I loved it, I was so happy there. It’s gutting,” he said.
The fires have been raging since Monday night.
Frost and his partner Wade initially sat and watched the fires in their rented home.
But when a chopper crashed on Tuesday afternoon, claiming the life of war hero and pilot Steve Askin, Frost knew he had to get contents insurance. On Wednesday morning, he got it signed off.
Hours later, his home was gone — or so he was told.
Frost left work at 11am on Wednesday with a bad feeling. As he went up his hill, he stopped to talk to a police officer “who said there was no risk” to his home.
But shortly after midday, the wind shifted to the northeast. It changed the direction of the fire, which soon began raging down the valley.
Frost said it quickly became apparent that they needed to leave.
By 2.15pm, he evacuated with only his dog and cat, along with his passport “and the clothes on my back”.
He went to the bottom of the hill and watched the flames “get closer and closer to our houses”.
At around 6pm, he went to a friend’s house. Later that night, he saw footage of his house, which showed it still intact.
Shortly before midnight, he ventured for a closer look.
“From what we could see, our house was actually glowing,” Frost told the Herald.
“It was just by chance we spoke to a gentleman whose partner was in the police and she was able to say, ‘yeah that house is gone’.
“We just sat and watched the hills burn for a while, for a bit of closure.” Frost still feels numb but feels so lucky that he got insured.
“I woke up [on Wednesday] morning and thought, ‘ I’ve got to do that now’, so I did it. We’re really lucky.” But later, a Fire Service contact told them their house might’ve survived.
The Herald was then able to show them images of Worsleys Spur taken from an NZME reporter at around 4pm yesterday which showed their home intact.
“It looks like a lot of our property is burnt, but we’re all good. We’re pretty lucky, which is really really good news,” Frost said last night.
Frost had been offered places to stay by friends and a local house builder.
But now, he can return to his home as soon as the cordons are lifted, which is not likely until Saturday.
“We talked to our neighbours next door and you can see their house gone and they are gutted,” Frost said.
“Our hearts go out to them and we’ll do what we can to help them out once we can get back in.”