Spate of escaped fires in South Canterbury avoidable, Fenz says
Five out-of-control burnoffs in South Canterbury in the past week have prompted a reminder from Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) of the dangers of escaped blazes.
Fenz Mid-South Canterbury deputy principal rural fire officer Don Geddes said people underestimated the risks of controlled burns, especially at this time of the year, and were not taking appropriate precautions
‘‘We are just concerned that we are getting so many of these fire escapes,’’ he said. ‘‘Potentially people who are lighting these fires need to give it a little more thought.’’
Geddes said the five fires were in Waimate, Twizel, St Andrews, Pendarves and Braemar, in the Mackenzie Basin.
The latest uncontrolled burnoff was yesterday morning in Waimate.
He said, a lot, if not all of these fire escapes could be avoided. ‘‘They emanate either from rubbish pits or piles of branches that people set fire to.’’
Hundreds of firefighters, many of them volunteers, were being called away from families, businesses and their jobs to fight the escaped fires, he said.
‘‘The vast majority of them are all volunteers. I believe it is an unnecessary waste of resources and time. These volunteers are giving up their time. It is a bit disappointing when you think these fires are avoidable.
‘‘When you look at the weather in the past couple of days there have been strong nor’west winds. When you look at a forecast like that, nobody should be lighting a fire.’’
Tree lines, shelter belts and fences were the most common items that got damaged during the blazes, he said.
‘‘I don’t think we have had any structural damage but mainly vegetation which is of value to farmers.’’
Geddes said there were several practices people needed to adhere to prior to lighting controlled fires.
‘‘People need to check the weather forecast before burning. Make sure there is no strong wind forecast and the wind is actually coming from the appropriate direction from where they are lighting the fire.
‘‘The second thing is to have some suppression resources on site in the event the fire does escape.’’
He said it was very important to supervise the fire in case of a change in wind direction or an increase in wind strength.