Port Hills fire: Rain brings relief as crews enter day seven

Fire crews battling Christchurch’s Port Hills fire will be thankful for rain, seven days into their firefighting operations.

Fire and Emergency (Fenz) initially said 20mm of rain fell on the Port Hills fireground this morning, however, that was corrected to just under 5mm due to a technical error with one of the rain gauges.

Fenz incident controller Steve Kennedy said: “Overnight crews made great progress eliminating many of the hotspots and also the deep-seated burning at one of the largest skid sites.”

Lee Reihana and other firefighters continue their efforts to dampen down remaining hotspots and create a buffer zone. Photo / Chris Skelton

He confirmed the specialist drone crew continued thermal imaging overnight and identified further areas that require attention today.

Kennedy said the rain was welcome and would help fire suppression, but also meant conditions would become slippery.

“Access tracks on the steep terrain will be checked before crews start working on some parts of the fireground.”

Firefighters will again be working with the support of heavy machinery, and two helicopters are available.

The damage in the Port Hills. Photo / George Heard

It comes as Fenz confirmed the blaze is contained but is not out.

Kennedy earlier said crews were focusing on about 40 hotspots considered at risk.

The fire operations around the Port Hills are expected to run until at least Thursday.

Waikari Valley Fire update

The much-needed rain also provided relief for Fire and Emergency crews battling a vegetation fire in Canterbury’s Waikari Valley.

Five helicopters and around 50 firefighters were called just after 8pm on Sunday to the large “fast-moving” blaze burning through gorse and scrub near Waikari Valley Rd in the Hurunui District.

Fenz said earlier the 300ha fire remains active.

Five helicopters and around 50 firefighters were called just after 8pm on Sunday to the large “fast-moving” blaze near Waikari Valley Rd in the Hurunui District. Photo / George Heard

In a social media update, Fenz said: “The good news is that there has been significant rain at the Waikari Valley fireground in Hurunui overnight.”

“The downside is that we had to bring the crews off the hill for safety. We’ll be doing a fly-over this morning to assess the state of the fire and that will inform the next steps for firefighting,” the post said.

The Waikari Valley incident site is around 300-hectares in size. Photo / George Heard

Evacuated residents of North Canterbury’s Waipara township returned home last night.