(Headline abbreviated, original headline: Nelson City Council closes reserves and restricts road access as fire risk continues to increase)

Following the continued spell of hot and dry weather Nelson City Council, in collaboration with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), Department of Conservation, forestry companies and Tasman District Council, is closing access to the following reserves, from midnight Monday 10th February (today), until further notice:

• Eureka Park
• Titoki Reserve
• Atmore Reserve
• Venner Reserve
• Bolwell Reserve
• Pipers Reserve
• Tantragee Reserve, including the Brook Mountain Bike Area/Codgers Trails
• Hanby Park
• Days Track

In addition, the Maitai Valley Road will be only accessible to residents beyond the Maitai Campground, and the Tantragee Road will be closed to all public access including cyclists and walkers.

The following reserves are already closed to the public and will remain so until further notice:

• Grampians Reserve
• Sir Stanley Whitehead Reserve
• Marsden Valley Reserve
• Maitai Water Reserve
• Brook Conservation Reserve
• Roding Water Reserve

Council makes the decision to close reserves and roads after taking advice from FENZ and monitoring the Build Up Index (BUI), which is an indicator of the difficulty in suppressing a fire that has started. The BUI is now at 110 and is expected to increase with little to no rain forecasted over the next two weeks.

Nelson City Council will assess the situation weekly. Further decisions on closures or re-openings will be made in consultation with FENZ.

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