As hot temperatures are forecast for parts of the South Island on Thursday, an extreme fire risk has closed Wānaka's Mount Iron Reserve, while in Canterbury, crews are preparing for wildfires in the Mackenzie Basin into the weekend.
The hottest areas are expected to be in parts of Canterbury, set to reach 31degC, with a warning from Fire and Emergency NZ the Mackenzie Basin is "primed to burn" due to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Further south, Dunedin and Alexandra in Central Otago were forecast to reach 28degC on Thursday, while a high of 29degC in Oamaru was expected, MetService said.
Popular holiday spots Queenstown and Wanaka were forecast 22degC and 24degC, respectively.
In Southland, a high of 23degC was forecast. A strong wind watch was in place for Fiordland south of George Sound, and Southland west of State Highway 6, including Stewart Island, from 3pm today until 1am on Thursday. North to northwest winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.
New Zealand on Monday recorded its hottest day of the summer so far and forecasters are warning the 34.6degC reached in North Canterbury's Hanmer Forest may be just the beginning.
‘‘It’s going to be hot - straight up,’’ Niwa meteorologist Chris Brandolino says.
MetService issues heat alerts when temperatures are set to reach levels that are unusually hot for that location. It warned of ‘‘incredibly warm’’ and muggy conditions overnight into Wednesday across much of the country.
Thursday may be the day temperatures really spike, Mr Brandolino said.
MetService credited some of the hotter temperatures to strong northwesterly winds barrelling in from Australia, creating a ‘‘foehn effect’’, with hot, dry wind further increasing temperatures, particularly in the South Island tomorrow.
‘‘You have hot days, but to get to the next level, distinguishable from those pedestrian hot summer days, you need that wind. It mixes the air and that’s when your temperatures really spike,’’ Mr Brandolino said.
Wānaka reserve closed due to wildfire risk
The Queenstown Lakes District Council advised today that for the next three days Wānaka's Mount Iron Reserve would be closed between 12pm and 6am due to an extreme risk of wildfire, and asked residents and visitors to avoid the reserve then.
It said the move follows fire indices reaching levels which trigger a closure, as outlined in the council's Wildfire Reserve Closure and Activity Management Procedures, and brought on by an extended spell of hot and dry weather and high temperatures forecast for Thursday.
Simon Battrick, the council's acting general manager community services, said shutting the reserve was the most appropriate step available to reduce the potential for fire to occur and the risk to life or property, given the extreme risk of wildfire expected.
“We know a wildfire in one of our reserves could have a devastating effect on our people, environment and economy. Closing access to the area while the danger is at such elevated levels is the safest option. It means we can reduce the potential for a fire to happen, and ensure people are out of harm’s way in the event a fire does start," he said.
“We’ll closely monitor the indices and either extend the closure or reopen the reserve on Sunday at 6am if it is considered safe to do so."
The council will publicly notify the reopening of the reserve on its Facebook page, website homepage and directly to those signed up to community text alerts.
Mackenzie Basin 'ready to burn'
The Mackenzie Basin is "primed and ready to burn," with the most challenging wildfire conditions since 2008 forecast into the weekend.
Fire and Emergency NZ incident controller Rob Hands today asked residents to act now to reduce the fire risk on their properties.
An incident management team has been set up in Twizel, in anticipation of a very high fire danger in the Mackenzie Basin for the next four days because of the hot, dry and windy conditions forecast.
Having the team pre-positioned in Twizel will ensure immediate support for local brigades in the event of a fire.
Other steps include doubling the number of fire trucks and crews that will automatically be sent to any vegetation fire in the Mackenzie Basin. Two helicopters and monsoon buckets will be on standby for the next three afternoons, when the fire danger will be highest.
A community meeting on the wildfire risk starts in the Twizel Events Centre tonight at 6.30pm. At the same time, four teams will be going door to door in Manuka Terrace - the site of a vegetation fire on Sunday - to talk to those residents about their fire risk.
Mr Hands is asking everyone living in Twizel to be aware of the high fire danger, and to take simple steps to make their own properties easier to defend against fire.
Rain for West Coast
While many spots are set to stay dry, rain returns to the West Coast and will be heaviest south of the glaciers.
MetService said 150mm to 200mm of rain was expected to fall in the 24 hours from 9pm on Wednesday in Westland south of the glaciers, and in Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound.
Peaks rates of 20mm/h to 30 mm/h were expected from dawn on Thursday. However, the heavy rain would ease in Fiordland around midday.
Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips were also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous, it advised.
- additional reporting NZ Herald
