Fire in Port Hills still burning under ground

The billowing smoke has gone, the state of emergency has lifted and residents have returned home, but firefighters are still trying to put out fires on the Port Hills as the battle moves below ground.

Fire broke out on the hills on Valentine’s Day, nearly seven years to the day from 2017’s devastating blaze. This time around 650 hectares burned, and about 80 households were evacuated.

While this blaze was contained far sooner, the fire is still burning 11 days on, as the fireground shifts under ground.

FENZ incident commander Steve Kennedy said tree roots in the Adventure Park were burning at significantly higher temperatures than surface temperatures of the remaining hot spots, some in excess of 200°C.

Extinguishing the underground fires would take “some time” to complete, he said.

Crews also continued to work on a forestry skid site within the pine plantation, which had to be pulled apart and extinguished, though Kennedy hoped that would be achieved by last night. Skid sites are where trees are processed before being loaded onto trucks, creating debris such as leaves, branches, stumps and roots.

Eight crews remained on site yesterday, and a drone with thermal imaging capability would be used overnight to map any new hot spots, Kennedy said.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) wrapped up its contribution to the effort on Friday. Emergency responders from Burnham’s field and emergency response squadron and a North Island squadron contingent managed the fire along a section of Summit Rd, and provided specialist skills to the broader response.

Emergency responder Corporal Molly van der Hoek welcomed the opportunity to test two new rural fire appliances on a large-scale scrub fire for the first time. “They have great 4WD capability, and being a modern vehicle they have all the safety measures to cater to our requirements on the ground, fighting the fire,” she said.

Away from the front line, the NZDF helped sustain responders through hearty meals, with four caterers from the Catering and Support Company providing more than 750 meals for firefighting crews, feeding about 150 people each day.