Castle Hill fire in Canterbury expected to be contained on Saturday, says Fire and Emergency

By RNZ

A large high-country scrub fire in Canterbury is still not contained, and strong winds and higher temperatures are expected in the area on Saturday afternoon.

The fire has burned through nearly 1000ha at Bridge Hill, northwest of Springfield.

Firefighters were battling to get the blaze under control in Saturday morning’s more favourable weather conditions.

Incident commander Colin Russell said while it was still not yet contained, it was remaining within its 17km boundary. He said despite the more volatile conditions in the afternoon, he was not expecting the fire to grow in size.

Residents around Castle Hill were on standby to evacuate should the blaze spread.

The fire started early on Thursday morning, closing State Highway 73 and burning through more than 1000ha at Bridge Hill, northwest of Springfield.

Sunday is shaping up to be one of the windier days we’ve had in a while as strong northwesterlies cover the country💨💨

Gusts of 150 km/h are possible in parts of the Canterbury High Country and 140km/h in areas in Wellington. Watches and Orange Warnings in place🟠🟡 pic.twitter.com/1xMZ7U1h8d

— MetService (@MetService) December 6, 2024

The Holloway Lodge, near the peak of Bridge Hill, was destroyed.

Russell said 110 Fire and Emergency New Zealand staff were still working to contain the blaze as the weather turned.

“This afternoon the wind is forecast to strengthen, and temperatures will be in the mid- to high-20s. This will be less favourable conditions for getting this fire contained and the risk of breakouts will be higher so we will be closely monitoring the fire.”

All recreational areas between Castle Hill and Lake Pearson were closed to the public, Fire and Emergency said on social media.

“This is still an active fire zone and with the winds increasing the risk of a breakout fire is higher. Please do not move cones and signs that are blocking off these areas. When you do this it ties up valuable resources trying to sort evacuations, when we should be working on the fire ground.”

Seven Fire and Emergency crews had monitored the site overnight.

Fire retardant lines had been placed around at-risk properties and crews would be focusing on the ground.

There had been five helicopters helping to battle the blaze, and Fire and Emergency was expected to do an aerial reconnaissance flight on Saturday morning to assess any damage and the extent of the fire’s spread.

SH73 had reopened, but stop/go signs were in place and traffic was being taken through the affected area in piloted convoys.

“We’d like to thank all the road users for their patience and adhering to the traffic restrictions in place,” Russell said. “It has meant we can keep the road open in a safe manner so people can continue to pass through.”

Strong wind warnings were in place for much of the South Island from early on Sunday, with northwesterly gusts picking up on the east coast through Saturday.

- RNZ

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