“The fire was contained by 4.50pm and crews had left the scene by 6.05pm.”
Two crews from Hastings also attended a small electrical fire at a building in Whakatu. The crews arrived around 8.45am and left by 9.12am.
Fire and Emergency Hawke’s Bay district manager Tony Kelly said the weather conditions for this weekend were a dangerous combination when it comes to fire danger.
“Starting tomorrow [Saturday], the temperature is heating up across Hawke’s Bay, particularly in the Ahuriri Heretaunga, Central Hawke’s Bay, and Northern Tararua areas.
“These areas will see temperatures above 30 degrees, strong winds in some places, low humidity, and low rainfall,” Kelly said.
“These conditions create spike fire risk days. On these days, fires can start easily, grow rapidly, and become extremely difficult for our crews to control.
“Our crews have been briefed about the weather over the coming days and are prepared to respond quickly and effectively.
“However, we are also urging the public to do their part to reduce the risk of fires starting and spreading.
“Most of Hawke’s Bay is already in a prohibited or restricted fire season and we are suspending all fire permits across the district from today.”
He urges people to follow these tips
- Minimise or postpone any spark/heat-generating activities such as using power tools and mowing the lawn
- Check any burn piles less than two months old and ensure they are fully extinguished
- Keep grass short and clean dead leaves and debris from gutters and decks.
- Keep driveways clear of trees and hedges to enable fire truck access (at least 4m x 4m clearance)
- Make sure your RAPID property number is easy for emergency services to find
- If you see smoke, call 111 immediately. We want to extinguish fires early.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Napier City Council said Level 3 water restrictions are expected to remain in place until at least early February.
“The outlook is for hot, dry, and windy conditions. That puts extra pressure on our water supply,” the spokesperson said.
“The community has done a fantastic job so far, and we’ve seen a noticeable drop in water use since Christmas.
“As people return to work and major water users come back online, combined with rising temperatures, we anticipate demand will increase again.
“On Saturday, January 3, our water usage dropped to 25,000 cubic metres – a level we haven’t seen since early October,” they said.
“That’s well below the 30,000cu m trigger for Level 2 and the 35,000cu m threshold for Level 3. This is a fantastic result and shows the community’s efforts are paying off.”
Before the Level 3 restrictions Napier’s daily water usage was sitting at around 35 million litres (the equivalent of filling 14 Olympic pools).
The current seven-day average is 30,000 million litres per day.
In Hastings, before the Level 3 restrictions were imposed, daily water use was almost 60 million litres of water each day.
A Hasting City Council spokesperson said the current seven-day average demand for the urban supply was sitting at just over 50 million litres per day.
“The restrictions play an important role in protecting the water supply and reducing pressure on the system,” the spokesperson said.
“That’s why it is important everyone does their bit to comply with the restrictions and use water wisely – even small actions like fixing a dripping tap can save hundreds of litres of water over a week."
Water use under Level 3
Under Level 3 restrictions, sprinklers and other automated watering systems are banned.
Hand-held hoses can be used on gardens between 6am and 8am and 7pm and 9pm on alternate days.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
