FIRE DANGER ACUTE

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28179, 18 January 1957, Page 12

FIRE DANGER ACUTE

PUBLIC ASKED TO TAKE CARE

“Fire danger has reached an extreme, particularly in the forests." said the senior ranger of the Canterbury Conservatory of the New Zealand Forest Service (Mr C. O. Bridgeman) last evening. “Although there has. been a very good spring and early summer this year, which kept fire danger to a minimum, the northwest winds that have been blowing recently have dried up the prolific undergrowth, thus creating a severe fire danger,” he said. “We are making a careful cover of our own forests and have extra standby forest crews ready for any emergency ”

Mr Bridgeman said that observers were taking frequent firehazard readings “These include recording temperature, humidity, the moisture content in the litter on the forest floor and trees, and the wind force. We scramble this information with the number of days the forest has been without rain in a fire-danger-metre.’’ Readings taken in the Balmoral and Eyrewell forests yesterday registered an extreme danger mark.

Mr Bridgeman said that although open grasslands had not yet reached a state of extreme dehydration, as had forest areas, campers, smokers and the travelling public must take every precaution to ensure that a careless sp-'rk did not ignite a general conflagration. Car drivers must not carelessly flick their cigarette butts out the window onto tinderdry undergrowth. “Serious fires last year caused great damage to Canterbury forests,” said Mr Bridgeman, “but this year we are potentially in a much worse position.”