Fire ban extended – for entire Wairarapa region

Report from RNZ
A fire ban will be in place for the entire Wairarapa region from Tuesday next week.

Last week a fire ban was declared for the Wairarapa Coast, but increased danger has extended the ban to the whole region. The shift to a prohibited fire season means no open-air fires are allowed, and all fire permits are revoked.

Fire and Emergency Wellington District community risk manager Philip Soal said there have been multiple vegetation fires in Wairarapa recently.

“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.”

He said people need to take extra care and not carry out any activities that could pose a fire risk such as lawn mowing, welding or driving through long grass.

Locals can also take simple steps to make their houses easier to defend against fire, including:

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)

News from Fire and Emergency NZ – January 14
The Wairarapa Coast moves to a prohibited fire season at 8am on Monday, until further notice. A prohibited fire season means no open-air fires are allowed and all fire permits are revoked.

Declaring the fire season change, Community Risk Manager Philip Soal says the hot, dry and windy weather has dried out grass and vegetation to the extent the fire danger is very high.

“The Wairarapa coast is predominantly pasture grasses, coastal dune grasses, scrub and young pine which are all prone to burning easily once dry,” he says.

“We expect vegetation to dry out further as the hot, windy conditions continue.”

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. This includes mowing, welding, and driving through long grass.

People can also take simple steps to make their properties easier to defend against fire. These include:

– 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)

“Taking these steps now will go a long way to helping our firefighters if a fire does break out,” Philip Soal says.