Wednesday 22 February

Port Hills Fire Update – 1pm

Street meetings for residents

Civil Defence will hold three street meetings for residents and landowners tomorrow (Thursday) from 6.30pm at the following cordon locations:

• 305 Kennedys Bush Road

• 51 Hoon Hay Valley Road

• 327 Worsleys Road

The purpose at the meetings is to provide the latest information about the fire status and ongoing risks, and where residents and landowners can get further help and advice if needed. People will also have opportunities to ask questions, both in a group setting and one-to-one.

Rubbish collections

Christchurch City Council has organised rubbish collection of all Council waste bins in Worsleys, Kennedys Bush and Hoon Hay Valley roads between 12pm and 5pm tomorrow (Thursday).

All waste will be treated as rubbish and does not need to be separated into the relevant bin.

A waste skip will be located in Worsleys Road for residents to drop off any additional waste.

Fire update

The Rural Fire Authority reports that 81 per cent of the fire perimeter area is now considered controlled. “Controlled” is defined as bare earth or blacked-out ground for at least 10 meters. Fire crews will continue fire suppression work today and are aiming to have nearly all of the fire perimeter controlled by the end of the day. However, it is still an active fire. Around 250 fire and emergency services staff are on the ground today, including those involved in aerial operations.

Today’s weather forecast indicates the potential for fire break-outs to occur, with warm weather forecast and moderate-strong winds, along with a wind change this afternoon.

Last night a fire breached the containment lines close to a dwelling. Fortunately, it was identified by a Fire Service drone undertaking thermal imaging and was able to be suppressed quickly.

Drones were used overnight over a section of the fire ground but not above occupied properties, for safety reasons. The drones were used to gather thermal and infrared hotspot imaging information, which allows fire crews to accurately target areas of fire activity. Suppression of hotspots has been particularly focused near residential areas, and there has been a significant reduction in hotspot activity in these locations. However, new hotspots continue to be identified, and the Christchurch Adventure Park has a number of active hotspots which will take some time to suppress.

The drones will continue to be used tonight to help identify hotspots. They will also be used to provide more accurate information about the fire perimeter and identify any unburnt vegetation. Helicopters are also being used to provide thermal hotspot information from a higher altitude.

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