Covid kills off fireworks shows in Whangārei, Bay of Islands

Pyrotechnics light up the sky at a previous Lions Fireworks Spectacular at Okara Park. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The pandemic has snuffed out professional fireworks shows around Northland for the rest of the year.

With fireworks now on sale ahead of Guy Fawkes this Friday, the region's top firefighter is urging Northlanders setting off their own pyrotechnics at home instead to take care to avoid fire or injury and to think about pets.

Northland's biggest show, the Lions Fireworks Spectacular, had been scheduled for Saturday at Whangārei's Semenoff Stadium but was cancelled last month due to a potential double-booking with a rugby match.

The National Provincial Rugby competition would normally be over by then but the season was delayed by a month due to Covid.

In previous years up to 8,000 people have turned out for the Whangārei show.

The biggest fireworks show in the Mid North, with about 2,500 spectators, is usually held at Springbank School near Kerikeri, but that has also been cancelled.

Principal Mike Warren, a trained pyrotechnic, said Northland had to drop to level 1 before the school could host a large-scale event. Given the increasing number of cases in Northland, that was not going to happen.

The annual Fireworks Extravaganza is organised by the Friends of Springbank, with the money raised going towards school activities. It was the trust's biggest fundraiser of the year, Warren said.

''It's disappointing, we don't get to have as much fun as we usually would. But it's such a large event and we don't want to cause transmission.''

While not everyone liked fireworks — pet and horse owners in particular — he believed it was better to have one big professional show that lasted 15 minutes at a place and time known in advance, than a large number of smaller fireworks set off at many different times and places.

Fireworks light up the crowd gathered on the Springbank School field during a previous Guy Fawkes show. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Meanwhile, Business Paihia has also cancelled its New Year's Eve fireworks show, traditionally launched from a barge moored between Paihia and Russell at the stroke of midnight. The free show is funded by donations from Bay of Islands businesses.

Business Paihia chairman Charles Parker said the rules for large events under the ''traffic light system'' — which could be in place by then — were not yet clear, but it seemed likely organisers would be required to ensure anyone who attended was double vaccinated.

That was not possible for an event such as the fireworks show, which was in the open with no gates where people's vaccination status could be checked as they entered.

Parker said out-of-town visitors generally didn't choose Paihia for the fireworks — for them it was usually a pleasant surprise — but fewer locals were likely to head to the seaside town on New Year's Eve now that the show had been cancelled.

A spokesman for the Government's Covid-19 Group said work to develop the new Covid-19 Protection Framework, or ''the traffic light system'', was ongoing.

More detail, including the rules around large events, would become available in the coming weeks.

''The specific requirements for events at each level of the approach are being considered as part of this work. We will continue to talk to the events sector, along with local government bodies and other key stakeholders as this work progresses.''

Vaccination certificates would play an important role at indoor and outdoor events, he said.

In normal years thousands line the Bay of Islands waterfront to watch a midnight fireworks show launched from a barge moored between Paihia and Russell. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Meanwhile, Fire and Emergency NZ is gearing up for one of its busiest nights of the year with an average of 200 fireworks-related call-outs across the country each November 5.

Northland district manager Wipari Henwood urged people to take care with fireworks.

That included heeding the instructions, making sure no pets or other animals were in the vicinity, keeping fireworks away from combustible material and making sure a hose or other means of extinguishing a blaze was on hand in case a firework misfired.

''The number one thing is to be safe. Fireworks aren't toys, treat them with respect.''

Henwood said recent wet weather would reduce the fire risk this year, and he wasn't concerned that the cancellation of public shows could prompt more people to buy their own pyrotechnics.

''I don't necessarily think there'll be a big surge of private firework sales. A lot of activity has been curtailed due to Covid,'' he said.

Fire and Emergency NZ staff started inspections of pop-up shops and their firework storage facilities on November 2, the first day of sales.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said Friday's weather was likely to be a mixed bag in Northland, with some showers during the day.

Cloud would remain in the evening but most of the rain should have abated by then.

The good news was that the wind was expected to be light, which would reduce the fire risk, she said.

Fireworks remain on sale until Friday. Buyers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid ID.

Lighting fireworks is illegal in some parts of Northland during summer, including the fire-prone Karikari Peninsula and Ahipara.

ACC data shows the highest-risk groups for firework-related injuries are children under 10 and men aged under 35.