Nelson Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 20 November 2019
Paws be at cathedral
Refuge in sport
Page 13
Clouds of colour It was a cavalcade of colour during the annual fun run fundraiser at Neale Park on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of runners, young and old, started the race in pristine white tees only to end it resembling a rainbow. The fourth annual event acts as a major fundraiser for Girl Guiding NZ, Multicultural Nelson Tasman and Scouts NZ. Runners had the options of a 1km, 3km or 5km race before being pelted with the coloured powder. Photo: Jonty Dine.
Page 22
Nelson’s wildfire future predicted Staff Reporter
New Zealand’s fast-rising fire danger has prompted questions about how prepared our communities are for big blazes - and whether development should even be allowed in highestrisk places. As Nelson firefighters leave to help battle fires across New South Wales and Queensland, a leading fire researcher also says Kiwis should snap out of a prevailing “won’t happen to me” attitude. Today, rural fires cost the economy about $67m each year - but that figure could swell as fire seasons lengthen by an average 70 per cent in a mere 20 years. Unsurprisingly, those regions with higher risk now were characteristically drier ones including Nelson. These trends came down to basic geography: eastern areas were drier as they sat in the rainshadow of mountain ranges, with prevailing westerly wind flows. They also tended to receive strong winds that delivered strong gusts on top of high temperatures and low humidity. Scion fire scientist Grant Pearce says regions with larger population centres saw more fires, which were almost always started by people. What became our biggest wildfire in 70 years - this year’s Pigeon Valley fire that ravaged
SEE PAGE 3
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