Tairāwhiti news digest: Crash injures three, fire guts Mobil storage shed, weekend heat fire warning

The three people in this car were taken to hospital with moderate injuries on Thursday night when it crashed in Bell Road at Matawhero. Photo / Murray Robertson

Three people were taken to Gisborne Hospital with moderate injuries on Thursday night after the car they were in left Bell Rd at Matawhero.

The vehicle flipped onto its roof and ended up in a drain.

Emergency services were called to the crash at about 11pm.

“The people in the car were all out by the time we arrived,” a senior firefighter said.

“Their car had veered off the road just past the Saleyards Rd corner, and ended up upside down, wedged in a roadside drain.”

The three people in it were transported to the hospital by St John Ambulance.

Police said the trio had moderate injuries.

It was a single vehicle crash, police said. An inquiry was underway.

There was another single-vehicle crash on State Highway 35 about 5pm on Thursday, on Panikau Hill.

Emergency services said the car involved left the road and hit a bank.

A woman in the vehicle sustained minor injuries and was taken to Gisborne Hospital.

Fire guts Mobil storage shed

Firefighters were called to a fire at the rear of the Portside Mobil Service Station on Gisborne’s Hirini St on Friday morning.

The cause of the incident, reported about 7.30am, is under investigation.

“It involved some waste material and a storage shed that caught fire,” a senior firefighter said.

“The shed was gutted, burnt out.”

Two fire crews responded and had the fire out within a few minutes using a low-pressure delivery hose.

“The cause has yet to be established and is under investigation.”

Wildfire risk in weekend heat

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has pointed to an increased fire risk posed by the extreme heat coming up this weekend in many places - including Tairāwhiti.

MetService has forecast 32C as the temperature high for Tairāwhiti Saturday and Sunday.

Fire and Emergency deputy chief executive prevention Nick Pyatt said in a statement that the high temperatures, wind gusts of 30km/h at times, and low humidity look set to create “a perfect storm for wildfire risk”.

He said the risk will be highest in the Canterbury, Marlborough, Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Northland and Tairāwhiti districts and urged people in those areas to take care.

Pyatt said the public should visit www.checkitsalright.nz to see if there are any restrictions on lighting open-air fires in their area, and for safety advice.

Gisborne city and the Poverty Bay Basin remain in a Restricted Fire Season, but the rest of the region remains in an Open Season for fires in the open.

“If your weekend plans include any activities involving an outdoor fire or spark/heat-generating activities such as using power tools and mowing the lawn, we’re asking you to consider postponing these activities,” Pyatt said.

“Physically check any burn piles from the last few weeks are fully extinguished. If in doubt, put more water on it to make sure it’s fully extinguished ahead of these extreme conditions.”