Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Weather callouts
Between 7.40am and 1pm on Thursday, Fire and Emergency responded to 264 weather-related callouts.
The calls were predominantly for roofs lifting and trees down. There were also callouts for fences down, sheds blown away, a loose satellite dish on a roof and loose trampolines.
There were 109 other 111 calls that did not require a response from Fire and Emergency crews and were passed on to the relevant authority.
Wellington and Canterbury saw the most callouts in the early morning before Southland was hit hardest at lunchtime, with 139 callouts in that District between 11.55am and 1pm (108 of those were in Invercargill).
District breakdown:
- Southland: 139
- West Coast: 4
- Canterbury (not including Hanmer Springs): 32
- Hanmer Springs: 12
- Marlborough: 2
- Wellington: 64
- Wairarapa: 8
- Bay of Plenty: 1
- Waikato: 1
Hanmer Springs fire
Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews are responding to a large vegetation fire approximately 4.5km southeast of Hanmer Springs.
Crews from Hanmer Springs are currently trying to access the fire, although roads are blocked by downed trees.
There are two helicopters operating at this incident.
No properties are currently threatened by fire, but a small number of properties have been evacuated as a precaution.
State Highway 7A is closed at Medway Road.
Kaikoura fires
Crews are working on multiple sectors to continue extinguishing hotspots alongside specialist arborist crews to bring down dangerous trees.
Helicopters have remained on standby to assist the 15 ground crews on site.
All roads continue to be open under traffic management with delays in place but motorists should be prepared for closures if the winds become hazardous.
Residents in the Kaikoura Flats area should continue to stay vigilant and ring 111 should they see any smoke or flames. Canterbury District is still in a Prohibited Fire Season.
Hawke’s Bay fires
The Saleyard fire size has been revised down this morning after aerial mapping to 139 hectares, with a small amount of fire spread overnight.
The fire is approximately 30% contained, with seven crews working hard to get it as contained as possible before the afternoon winds.
The Bush Road and Schaeffer Road fires are contained.
At Schaeffer Road there are dive crews working on deep-seated hotspots. They will continue to do so for the next day or two.
At Bush Road, there are no crews currently on site, but the fire will be monitored for any flare ups over the coming days
Crews from as far away as Taranaki, Te Awamutu and Taupo are in attendance across the fires, in addition to those from Wellington and Manawatu.
Fire risk advice/warning
We are really concerned about the fire risk on the east coast of both islands as high winds combine with warm temperatures and low humidity.
We are asking every landowner, agricultural contractor, forestry manager and lifestyle block owner to help us avoid any more fires starting, and please check any old burn piles to ensure they are fully extinguished.
A ban on all open-air fires and fireworks came into force in Marlborough, Canterbury and South Canterbury, the Wellington District and all of the Hawke’s Bay District at midday.
All fires in open air are prohibited while the prohibition on fire in open air is in force. Fire and Emergency has not authorised any fire types that can be lit during this prohibition.
This is because of the extreme fire risk caused by the next wave of the severe gales forecast.
In these conditions, it will be very difficult for us to control any fires that get out of control. We are asking people to be extra careful.
