Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
All of the Wairarapa moves into a prohibited fire season from 8am on Tuesday 23 January, until further notice.
A prohibited fire season means no open-air fires are allowed and all fire permits are revoked.
Last week, a prohibited fire season was declared for the Wairarapa Coast.
Wellington District Community Risk Manager Philip Soal says there have been several vegetation fires in the Wairarapa recently, highlighting the increasing fire danger.
“The region is experiencing hot, dry, and windy weather and vegetation will continue to dry out over the coming weeks.
“It is in these conditions where we see wildfires start and spread very quickly.”
Philip Soal asks people to take extra care as the dry weather continues and not carry out any activities that could pose a fire risk, like mowing, welding, and driving through long grass.
“We also ask farmers and contractors in the area to be aware of the high fire danger because routine activities could cause a spark that would easily set the grass on fire,” Philip Soal says.
If machinery work couldn’t be deferred then it was best to carry out operations in the early morning, when the temperature is lower, and the humidity was higher.
People can also take simple steps to make their properties easier to defend against fire.
This includes:
– Clearing flammable material from 10m around homes and buildings.
– Moving firewood stacked against houses
– Clearing gutters of dried leaves etc that will easily catch fire
– Clearing flammable material from under decks
– Trimming trees and bushes and removing the trimmings
– Keeping grass short (using a trimmer with a nylon line is safer in these conditions than a mower or trimmer with a metal blade that could create a spark)
