Two questioned about hills fire

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 1

Two questioned about hills fire

By

NEIL CLARKSON

Two youths have been questioned by the police over the Port Hills fire which burned up to five square kilometres of grass, scrub and trees on Wednesday. Senior-Sergeant Mike Moore, of the Christchurch South Police Station, said the two, aged 17 and 18, were interviewed by detectives. “No determination has been made as to any charges, and what they would be if they were laid,” he said. Senior-Sergeant Moore said the fire was believed to have started in grass on the floor of Cashmere Valley, just east of Worsleys Road. Inquiries are continuing. The Canterbury area fire commander, Mr Michael Burke, said helicopters with monsoon buckets were crucial in containing the blaze.

Four helicopters were called in to fight the blaze, along with about 150 fire-fighters, about half of whom were from volunteer brigades.

“I think if there was any standback comment, it would be ‘Thank God for helicopters,’ ” Mr Burke said.

“They absolutely saved the day. They managed to get to the inaccessible places.” Firemen stayed during Wednesday night, dousing hot spots. The firemen withdrew about midday yesterday, handing over to Paparua County staff to continue damping down. Mr Burke said the dry conditions and strong winds combined to spread the fire quickly. "Once the fire gained momentum in the valley it just raced up the hills.”

He said a big effort went into stopping the fire from crossing Worsleys Road. “Every endeavour was made to stop it, but with it burning up the slopes it just became a hopeless task. It spread so rapidly.”

Mr Burke said a call went out for helicopters from the outset. It takes about 30 minutes to get a helicopter operational with a monsoon bucket.

“In the space of 30 minutes a

lot happens.” The blaze highlighted the fire danger in Canterbury, he said. “It is a warning to everybody to be particularly careful with any sort of fires outside. It really confirms the need for the fire ban throughout Canterbury.”

Mr Burke said it was difficult to say whether the fire-fighters could have saved houses had more been threatened.

A problem arose on Wednesday evening because the threatened houses were set among trees, he said.

“If there had been more houses we would have had less vegetation. It is difficult to say.”

The fire was unusual in that it was not fanned by a north-west wind.

Firemen were cleaning up equipment in readiness for the next fire.

Mr Burke said the city’s firefighters seemed to have become rural fire-fighters. The firemen, trained to fight fires in buildings, had had an unusually big involvement in rural fires on the outskirts of Christchurch, he said.