CARELESS USE OF FIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 13 January 1944, Page 4

CARELESS USE OF FIRE

[To the Editor] Sir On. the roadside at the junctio» of the Pearse and Motueka Rivers, there are two groups of birch trees which in the past have given pleasure to hundreds. Last week a picnic party lit a fire there in a strong south-west jmd, and left it burning. Just behind the fireplace there was some dead wood, and further again some dry fern so naturally the fire went through the wood and fern, with the result that about a dozen fine trees were burnt. Last week also, a party in a motor car was seen to light a fire on the Kaiteriteri road, and this soon spread over a good part of the hillside. Mostly the fire went through gorse and fern, but it also burnt some of the beautiful trees, the last remnants of the original forest, below the memorial cairn. Last week-end a fire was lit on the upper edge of the bush on Brown Acre. It was a small fire on Sunday morning, but by the afternoon it was blazing furiously across the whole of the fine birch forest on the southern face of the mountain, and so another considerable area of native bush was destroyed. On the main ridge between Flora Saddle and Mount Arthur, we found three places where fires had been lit in the bush against dead trees. These fires had apparently been lit in damp weather and had not spread, but fires in similar sites under present conditions could easily be disastrous. It might be timely to repeat the paragraph relating to fires in the handbook issued by the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand : "No large fires should be made, and every care should be taken to guard against the danger of a fire spreading, particularly in dry weather and in forest country. Fires should never be lit against trees, and where peaty formations exist .the possibility of a fire spreading underground should be guarded against ’’ To this might be added the further advice: Where'proper fireplaces are provided, they should be used. If possible. a fire should be lit with a protection of stone or earth on three sides. Before leaving the fireplace, one shouM make sure that the fire is quite out, preferably by dousing it with water, and if this cannot be done, by seeing that the embers are dead, and then covering them with sand or earth. If these simple precautions are observed, a picnic fire should cause no damage.— I am. etc , M. C H. CHEEK. Captain. Nelson Tramping Club. Nelson, 13th Jan. WHAT CARELESSNESS CAN DO The public are once again warned of the great danger attending such practices as throwing matches or live cigarette butts out of cars in the present conditions of drought Motorists going through the countryside have a special responsibility.