Port Hills fire: Dampening 30 identified hotspots the priority – FENZ

Fire crews work to put out hot spots on the Port Hills.
Photo: CHRIS SKELTON

Firefighters are prioritising getting on top of about 30 identified hotspots on Canterbury’s Port Hills

A 650-hectare blaze broke out on the hills last week and crews have been working to get it under control ever since.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Incident Controller Steve Kennedy told Morning Report day crews had just been sent back up shortly after 7am.

Its teams had flown drones over the hills overnight and found 30 hotspots.

Getting on top of those before any change in weather and wind levels was a priority for the morning, Kennedy said.

It was currently calm at the bottom of the hills but he was not aware what it was like at the top – although he could see some dust coming off the road.

Members of the public flying their own drones in the airspace above the hills had been problematic, and helicopters have had to be grounded on multiple occasions, including on Sunday.

Kennedy urged people to refrain from flying drones above the Port Hills – as well as the Waikari Valley where another vegetation fire was being fought.

It hindered their ability to attack the fire from the air as helicopters could not continue to work while drones were flying around.

It meant “numerous hours” of firefighting time was lost and it took time for helicopters to fly back to base and return to site.

Kennedy said he was aware of one family in the Summit Road area who had not yet returned home but said they were the only evacuees who were not back in their homes.

Resources from the Nelson and Marlborough areas had been brought in to help firefighting resources, and crews from the West Coast were coming today to help, he said.

He hoped crews would be well on top of hot spots by the end of the day, depending on the severity of the winds predicted.

Parts of Canterbury are currently under an orange strong wind warning.

Metservice meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the Canterbury plains and Christchurch could see winds of up to 90 km/h.

Top speeds would be in the most exposed areas.

Wind levels could increase late morning or into the early afternoon, she said.