Bay Harbour: November 14, 2018

Wednesday <strong>November</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />

Another big Port Hills fire looms<br />

• By Julia Evans<br />

ANOTHER MAJOR fire on the<br />

Port Hills will happen.<br />

That’s the stark warning from<br />

an agricultural expert who says<br />

the vegetation on the hills is a<br />

powder keg.<br />

Lincoln University’s Derrick<br />

Moot said active management of<br />

the area was needed to prevent<br />

future events<br />

like the Port<br />

Hills fires,<br />

which burned<br />

for 66 days last<br />

year. Helicopter<br />

pilot Steve<br />

Askin crashed<br />

Derrick Moot<br />

and died while<br />

fighting the<br />

blaze.<br />

Two separate fires on Early<br />

Valley Rd and Marleys Hill combined<br />

to one, destroying nine<br />

houses and significantly damaging<br />

two.<br />

An investigation concluded<br />

that both fires were possibly deliberately<br />

lit, though it was listed<br />

as undetermined.<br />

But Dr Moot said in his opinion,<br />

the fire could have easily<br />

spread further and taken out<br />

more homes.<br />

“We’re very fortunate we didn’t<br />

get a southerly. It went from a<br />

nor’west to a nor’east, but could<br />

tree trouble?<br />

call us 384 9630<br />

www.fourseasonstreecare.co.nz<br />

DANGER: The fire of 2017 ravaged the Port Hills.<br />

Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />

have quite easily blown down to<br />

a lot more housing,” he said.<br />

“They were devastating<br />

enough as it was for the people<br />

involved and we lost someone.<br />

But this was a warning that we<br />

need to have active management<br />

of the peripheral area.”<br />

Dr Moot said simple things such<br />

as maintaining grass growth and<br />

grazing would significantly reduce<br />

the likelihood of another fire.<br />

“We need someone to take responsibility<br />

of the area, whether<br />

that be the Christchurch City<br />

Council, Selwyn District Council<br />

or Environment Canterbury.<br />

There needs to be guidelines for<br />

land owners.”<br />

Dr Moot said if NIWA’s prediction<br />

for a hot, dry <strong>November</strong><br />

came through the grass and<br />

weather in the wider Port Hills<br />

area would be in an identical<br />

state as they were before the fires.<br />

He said the effects of climate<br />

change also have an impact.<br />

Rural firefighter Richard<br />

McNamara, who led the aerial<br />

assault on the fire said there was<br />

always the potential for another<br />

disaster given the “fuels” that<br />

were up on the Port Hills.<br />

“There’s always been fires up<br />

there but the issue is that our<br />

urban dwellings are pushing further<br />

up and also climate change.<br />

We’re going to start having hotter,<br />

drier summers,” he said.<br />

Mr McNamara said it was up<br />

to those who live in the area to<br />

understand the risk as he said<br />

management would be hard to<br />

enforce.<br />

Fire and Emergency New<br />

Zealand manager rural fire Tim<br />

Mitchell said there was not a one<br />

size fits all solution.<br />

“It’s not an easy problem to<br />

resolve. You’ve got to think of<br />

the context of each landowner,”<br />

he said.<br />

Mr Mitchell said if landowners<br />

needed help the councils, FENZ<br />

and other organisations would<br />

help.<br />

In the wake of the fires, FENZ<br />

went through an operational<br />

review. Urban and rural firefighters<br />

are working together<br />

in training, as well as working<br />

with the community to spread<br />

prevention awareness.<br />

Environment Canterbury<br />

Christchurch West Melton<br />

Banks Peninsula zone manager<br />

Steve Firth said it was working<br />

to offer support and advice to<br />

landowners on the hills.<br />

COMING EVENTS<br />

Wednesday<br />

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Thursday 7PM<br />

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Friday 7PM KELVINATOR<br />

Saturday 7PM JASON<br />

Sunday 4PM<br />

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PAGE 5<br />

Fire rages, homes at risk<br />

ARMISTICE HEART ATTACK<br />

Diamond <strong>Harbour</strong> firefighters<br />

were surprised to see a woman<br />

approach them who had just<br />

suffered a heart attack as<br />

they were setting up for their<br />

Armistice Day roaring chorus<br />

commemoration on Sunday.<br />

Chief fire officer Bob Palmer<br />

said firefighters were on the<br />

station’s driveway when the<br />

woman, whose husband was<br />

driving past on the way to the<br />

hospital, approached them. He<br />

said it was lucky they were there<br />

and understood the woman<br />

was doing well after firefighters<br />

took her to hospital just as the<br />

ceremony started. The Lyttelton<br />

and Governors <strong>Bay</strong> volunteer<br />

fire brigades also held roaring<br />

chorus commemorations.<br />

STORIES APP LAUNCHED<br />

The Our Stories Project app is<br />

now available on the Google<br />

Play and iTunes app stores.<br />

Users will be able to purchase<br />

and download the Lyttelton<br />

Stories tour through the<br />

app, enabling them to listen<br />

to stories from 20 Lyttelton<br />

people about growing up there.<br />

The stories were organised by<br />

location and the app could be<br />

set to alert users when they were<br />

near a location with associated<br />

stories, or auto play when they<br />

were nearby.<br />

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Prices valid Wednesday<br />

Nov <strong>14</strong> – Tuesday Nov 20