South Canterbury's rural fire chief is poised to impose fire
restrictions as the region faces the prospect of its driest
summer in five years.
South Canterbury principal rural fire officer Rob Hands says
he is prepared to trigger the restrictions at short notice to
combat a heightened fire risk caused by low recent rainfall
and strong northwesterly winds.
Mr Hands said the expression "green drought" was an apt
description for large areas of South Canterbury's countryside
at present.
"It looks green, but it's much drier than most people
appreciate. It's a green top, but it's not long before
everything's going to go brown again."
Similar conditions were not experienced last year until late
December, he said.
Although northwesterly winds were normal in August and
September, this season had seen record wind speeds in some
places, with some landowners telling him they were the
strongest they had ever experienced.
The Fire Service attended 13 fires during a 12-hour period on
September 14 and 15 - the majority caused by previously lit
fires that had been rekindled by strong winds, he said.
Mr Hands said about 25cm of rain would be needed to avert the
situation but, like farmers, he would prefer several smaller
rainfalls.
"But we need an inch of rain now to start the recovery
process."
Mr Hands said the consensus among weather forecasters was
that Canterbury was facing a similar summer to that of
2003/04.
"In 2004 we had troops deployed from the North Island, and
[Fire Service] national incident management teams down here
to relieve the pressure on local managers."
He was particularly concerned by conditions in the
Waihaorunga Valley and areas along the bottom of the
foothills.
He was prepared to impose fire restrictions at short notice
and recommended that rural landholders prepared accordingly.
However, his decision would be based on the analysis of
weather data and a calculation of available fuel for fires,
and he would not act prematurely.
"I appreciate that people in the rural community have the
ability to burn [vegetation], and I don't want to take that
right away from them, but at the same time I have a
responsibility to make sure the rest of the community is
safe."
Mr Hands said he managed fire restrictions by dividing the
region into two zones: an inland sector comprising the
Mackenzie Basin and Hakataramea Valley, and a coastal strip.
A "restricted" fire status meant that permits were required
for anything more than a cooking fire.
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