Spate of ‘avoidable fires’ prompts call for caution

A spate of hedge fires in Southland sparked a reminder from Fire and Emergency New Zealand to anyone wanting to burn to think carefully before lighting up debris from October’s storm.

Southland district manager Julian Tohiariki said there were two common causes of fires getting out of control and both were easily avoided.

"People have been setting fire to debris from the big winds at the end of October without giving enough thought to where they have built their piles.

"They’re often much too close to hedges, shelter belts and other vegetation."

The second cause related to people lighting their burn piles without checking the weather forecast.

"At this time of year, we do expect windy conditions and unsettled weather," he said.

"A fire that is not properly extinguished can reignite days later in windy conditions, so we ask people to be aware of this and check that any fires they have lit are actually out.

"Wind will fan the flames, blow embers around and make it much harder to keep control of their fire."

The outcome was frequently a 111 call, which resulted in a local volunteer fire brigade having to put out the fire, often after significant damage to the property and sometimes affecting neighbours’ land as well.

Vegetation fires could burn for days if they became established and deep-seated, he said.

Extinguishing them often required significant resources.

"This is putting a lot of pressure on our volunteer firefighters at a time when they are also really busy on their own properties,

"Many of them are farmers themselves.

"They are also dealing with damage from the storm and doing their regular jobs at the same time.

"They always want to help their community but none of them want to be dealing with these completely avoidable fires."

Anyone who used fire as a land management tool needed to look at the weather forecast and go online to www.checkitsalright.nz for advice about safe burning, he said.

Controlling burns

• Place the burn pile on the lee side (sheltered side) at least 30m away from trees, hedges, sheds or other structures and avoid powerlines.

• Create a 5m fire break to stop a creeping ground fire.

• Always check www.checkitsalright.nz before burning, to be sure  it is safe to burn and understand any restrictions for your location, including if you need a fire permit.