Forests In Danger From Fire

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31306, 28 February 1967, Page 16

Forests In Danger From Fire

Recent hot, dry weather has raised the risk of fire in Canterbury forests to an official level of “extreme danger.”

The senior forest ranger of the New Zealand Forest Service (Mr T. E. C. Bridge) said yesterday that the danger of fire was greatest at the big

plains forests of Balmoral and Eyrewell. It is more than three weeks since any appreciable rain. High temperatures and north-west winds have dried the forests out and at least a quarter of an inch of rain is needed to ease the situation. Last week-end official readings at Balmoral, Waipara and Eyrewell were above 90 degrees on Sunday, and in the high eighties on Saturday. Mr Bridge urged the public to to exercise extreme caution in and near the forests. “The public generally are very careful, but you get the odd one who forgets or just doesn’t care,” he said. Fire fighting crews in the forests are on a 24-hour alert in case of outbreaks. Look-out posts equipped with transmitter radios to direct ground crews are on watch day and night.

Dr. J. B. Condliffe of the Stanford Research Institute will spend March 20 at the University of Canterbury. He will speak to staff on recent events at Berkeley and to a wider audience on technology and the university.