The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Northland's Principal Rural Fire officer ponders fire ban

Northland Age
7 Jan, 2019 10:30 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Myles Taylor.

Myles Taylor.

Northland's Principal Rural Fire officer, Myles Taylor, is considering imposing a total fire ban across the region after two major scrub blazes racked up a six-figure bill.

Rubbish fires were also being lit on a regular basis, without permits, particularly in the Far North, despite the restricted fire season that took effect on December 1, Mr Taylor said last week.

Tuesday night's scrub fire at Taipa Point, where two helicopters supported ground crews, cost around $20,000 to extinguish, while an earlier blaze south of Kaikohe, which burned for four days, cost around $200,000. Four helicopters, two bulldozers and 25 rural firefighters battled that fire.

Crews from Kaikohe returned to the scene last week, and were expected to continue monitoring it until there was significant rain.

Mr Taylor said a total fire ban was being considered because most calls were to unattended rubbish fires in the middle of the day, when temperatures were at their highest.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"If people don't take responsibility for their actions, then we'll close the fire season by declaring a ban," he said.

"Fire risk is the highest between 11am and 5pm, although most of the activities are undertaken around 3pm, when relative humidity is at its lowest and the heat highest, so people need to be very careful of any ignition sources.

"I understand at this time of the year people would want to dispose of their rubbish, but they need to consider that the fire danger is elevated. If they are unsure, they should contact the fire service or hold off until conditions are favourable," Mr Taylor said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

No action had been taken against those caught burning rubbish without a permit so far because Fire and Emergency preferred to educate people on the dangers of lighting open fires in hot weather.

He warned, however, that insurance companies might not cover any damage that resulted from deliberately lit fires.

The maximum penalty for lighting a fire in open air without a permit during a restricted fire season is two years' imprisonment and/or a $300,000 fine.

Discover more

Far North fire fighters: Check before starting burnoffs

15 Jan 03:30 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

The Country

The Country: Luxon on coalition friction

The Country

Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure
The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

Rifts among industry groups, charities and agencies in the beekeeping industry.

16 Jul 03:00 AM
The Country: Luxon on coalition friction
The Country

The Country: Luxon on coalition friction

16 Jul 01:42 AM
Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal
The Country

Man lost wife and daughter in Waiuku triple-fatal

16 Jul 12:37 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP