FIRST ON THE STREET
7ththNov Nov 2014 2017 27 Jan--13 3rdth Feb
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
No No 434 625
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
J 1 IN O 10 SI BS D
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It’s hard to imagine given the abysmal weather outside my window today, but the Queenstown Lakes has just had one of the driest October’s on record. Even with the recent rain and cold snap the countryside is tinder dry and we are still a month away from summer. The likelihood of scorched earth around the district this summer made my ears prick up when the independent review was released last week on Christchurch’s Port Hills fire emergency response. If you can remember how quickly that fire took on a life of its own earlier this year, you can start to understand why our Otago rural fire chief has already announced the start of a restricted fire season across the Queenstown Lakes District. Most of our disaster planning centres around earthquakes and flooding. The 1999 flood taught us how vulnerable we are. Once the water stopped rising, there was the major issue of road closures in and out of Queenstown. We almost ran out of beer! Frankton Road was closed with a massive slip, as was the Kawarau Gorge, Crown Range and Devils Staircase. For a few hours last Friday a car accident on Frankton Road closed the road giving us a taste of that scenario. Just a taste. Our supply lines can just as easily be disrupted by fires in the Wakatipu or further into Central Otago or Southland. However being cut off from the outside world is just an inconvenience, the really scary thing is houses burnt to the ground and the loss of life. With less stock grazing and more dry grass on our hills, the countryside surrounding the Wakatipu can very easily become a fire storm. Who are we going to rely on if such a fire storm eventuates? For starters we can rely on the most professional, and one of the busiest volunteer fire brigades in the country. But can we rely on ourselves, neighbours and visitors? A freedom camper was suspected to have started the massive scrub fire on the Glenorchy Road last summer. If it wasn’t for the quick and decisive efforts of our emergency services we could have been looking at the charred remains of Bob’s Cove, Closeburn, Sunshine Bay and Fernhill. A fire could just as easily sweep across Dalefield, or from Arthurs Point to Arrowtown, Arrowtown to Wanaka.
Winner of the annual Luge Race - Richard Thomas at the Arrowtown Trolley Derby in Arrowtown on Saturday.
(Photo: Jodi Walters)
ZOO PROJECT 22.11.17
It might sound a little far-fetched but I’m sure the people who lost homes in the Port Hills would have thought “yeah right” if someone had told them a fire could ravage 1661 hectares of land around and through their homes with the energy at its peak of four atom bombs and take 300 firefighters 66 days to fully extinguish. The same could happen here, all from a campers stove, a neighbour’s lawn mower or a casually tossed cigarette butt. It will take more than the garden hose to get it under control. It will take a coordinated committed response from well-trained local agencies and emergency professional, volunteers and the cooperation of people like you and me to avoid a repeat of the Port Hills inferno. Scott Stevens scott@lwb.co.nz
SATURDAY 11TH NOVEMBER
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QUEENSTOWN’S
JOHN RAVENS WEATHER Last week John was 97% correct
RENTAL PROPERTIES
See inside back cover for our full list
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Cloud Increasing. Showers Clearing. Cloudy Periods. Cloudy Periods. Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy with Partly Cloudy Occasional Rain Afternoon Westerlies Chance Shower Chance Shower with Light Winds Not Much Wind with Light Winds