Police investigating reports of flare before Port Hills fires

Photo / Caleb Alexander

The lighting of a flare is being treated as suspicious by police investigating four fires on Christchurch's Port Hills.

All four fires happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning between midnight and 2am.

Three of them were on Summit Rd and one was on Governors Bay Rd.

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Police are asking for anyone with information to come forward.

"The fires are being treated as suspicious. Specifically, there were reports that a flare was seen."

Caleb Alexander told the Herald he was on the Port Hills with friends and saw a flare shoot over the hill on the sugarloaf side which he says started the fire.

&bull If you have information, please get in touch by phoning 105 and quoting
file number 201209/8549.