A main highway that the fire roared on either side of has now reopened after efforts to extinguish the fire today, with a speed limit of 50km/h imposed on motorists using the route.
Fire and Emergency Canterbury district commander Dave Stackhouse said “unfortunately the fire has grown in size to 980ha and 17km of perimeter”.
He said a total of 86 firefighters were on the ground battling the blaze.
Holloway Lodge – an old Forest Service Hut – had been destroyed.
The focus of firefighters over the next few days would be to secure the perimeter of the fire.
The wildfire near Canterbury's Castle Hill has spread to 980ha. Photo / Fire and Emergency New Zealand
“We’ll maintain the helicopter presence and probably reduce the fixed-wing assets over the next 24 hours,” Stackhouse said.
“We plan to hit the fire ground hard with ground crews and air attack this weekend to get as much of the fire controlled and extinguished before stronger winds forecast early next week arrive.”
Stackhouse said a lot of the “heavy fuel” growth in the area had been extinguished.
“We are aided by really good weather today, and over the next two days with the southwest with mild wind conditions,” Stackhouse said.
Despite this, Stackhouse said firefighters need to remain vigilant.
“We can’t rest on our laurels. If the wind comes up we need to increase our resources and that restricts our air attack options,” he said
He added fire officials had a “reasonably good indicator of the fire’s cause”. Fire investigators and police were working on the cause, which Stackhouse said was a “normal” process.
He said it may be more than a week until the cause of the fire is identified.
He also confirmed that Canterbury would be going into a restricted fire season.
“The high country we’ve been watching is pretty dry.
“It’s likely before Christmas we’ll move to a prohibited fire season, which means no burning at all.”
Fresh firefighting crews would be rotated on to duty to battle the fire over the weekend.
However, Incident Commander Brian Keown said the fire did not enter the village overnight.
SH73 is now open with piloted traffic, Stackhouse said.
“We’ll review that with NZTA over the next 12 hours, with a view of opening to full traffic flow provided it’s safe to my firefighters,” Stackhouse said.
Fourteen Castle Hill Village residents have self-evacuated, along with several school camps and lodges.
Forecasters say winds have picked up slightly but changed direction and Keown said the weather conditions are “favourable for firefighting”.
“The wind is not as strong as it was yesterday and there is some rain forecast for the area in the afternoon which, if it eventuates, will aid our efforts to contain the fire,” Keown said.
Keown said 15 trucks, tankers and support vehicles were on the ground this morning, while nine helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft prepared to fight the fire.
There are also crews working with heavy machinery on the ground.
“Crews are also continuing to protect huts and other structures in the area.”
There are 85 Fire and Emergency NZ personnel on-site today, including an Incident Management Team, and the Region Co-ordination Centre back in Christchurch was also involved.
He said wind gusts up to about 50km/h were expected today, with mid-20s temperatures.
He said winds will be “relatively strong” in elevated areas until the evening, when they should ease slightly. He said a few showers are forecast for the evening about the Canterbury plains.
Diversions are in place on State Highway 73 at Castle Hill Village, Arthur’s Pass, and Springfield near Annavale Rd.
Evacuated residents:
Castle Hill residents Cuchla and Barry said they chose to evacuate.
“We could see it from our house ... it was pretty worrying, the fire was moving fast,” said Cuchla.
Cuchla, whose surname will not be used, said the fire crews have been “amazing”.
Keown says students from three schools were evacuated from camps in the area as a precaution. Students from two of the schools had been staying at the Environmental Education Centre, while the others were at Forest Lodge.
“All other school camps are safe and away from the fire.
“Air around this location is smoky and there is potential that people who are sensitive to smoke – such as those with heart or lung conditions, people who are pregnant, young children and the elderly – may experience symptoms like coughing, shortness of breath or eye, nose and throat irritation,” it said in a statement.
SH73 CASTLE HILL TO LAKE PEARSON - FIRE - 7:40AM, THU 5 DEC
Due to a large scrub fire near the highway, road users are advised to take extra care and expect delays while travelling through the area. ^JP pic.twitter.com/4DY8YkZBZe
— NZ Transport Agency - Canterbury & West Coast (@nztacwc) December 4, 2024
Fire and Emergency services hope to have the fire under control by the end of the day. Photo / NZTA
