Friday, January 23, 2015
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Police lift their presence
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BY DAISY HUDSON
DAISY.H@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
A total fire ban will be introduced across Mid Canterbury, following weeks of drought-like conditions. The ban will come into effect throughout the district at midnight on Saturday. A total ban will also be implemented in South Canterbury, meaning a prohibited fire season will apply to the whole Canterbury region. A prohibited fire season means no outdoor fires can be lit without specific permits, such as for biosecurity matters. The ban has been on the cards for several weeks, as tinder dry conditions and soaring temperatures edged fire danger levels to “very high”. Mid Canterbury’s chief rural fire officer Don Geddes said recent rain had not been
Rural fire officer Dave O’Donnell is preparing for a total fire ban in Mid Canterbury, which will come into effect at midnight on Saturday. PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 220115-TM-031
“
The fire fuels, the grass and things are still all sitting there available for combustion
enough to dampen plans for a total ban. “The fire fuels, the grass and things are still all sitting there available for combustion,” he said. “We know when we get fires that get into that stuff, they’re going to be deep-seated, intense fires and they’re going to be difficult to put out.” Those who flout the ban could expect serious consequences,
ranging from an instant fine of $575 to criminal prosecution. Fire crews across the district have been kept busy battling dozens of vegetation fires in recent weeks and while the ban should ease some of the pressure, Mr Geddes believes firefighters will still have plenty to do. “It still doesn’t stop the fires that happen accidentally, for example, the one earlier this month in Mayfield that was started by a
header,” he said. “We’re still going to get those fires, as we move into the harvest we always get them.” The region’s firefighters were again busy yesterday, as crews from Hinds, Ashburton, Geraldine and Willowby battled a blaze along a treeline on Junction Road, near the Rangitata river mouth. Hinds Rural Fire Force chief fire officer, Dave Kingsbury, said
the fire was likely the result of a spark from a piece of barbed wire flicked up by a hedge trimmer. Mr Kingsbury said while it was hard to prevent those types of fires, contractors needed to be aware that roadsides were very dry. There is likely to be little relief from the dry conditions in the near future, with the MetService forecasting temperatures in the high 20s heading into next week.
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