Call for firelighting caution in Whanganui after four-hour rural firefight near Kai Iwi

Whanganui firefighters fought a vegetation fire off State Highway 3 near Kai Iwi on Thursday. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui firefighters are asking people in the region to be wary of conditions when lighting fires, after crews spent four hours extinguishing a vegetation fire near Kai Iwi.

A Fire & Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said one Whanganui Fire Station appliance and a tanker responded to the vegetation fire off State Highway 3 at around 2.45pm on Thursday.

Later two rural fire crews responded to the fire and a volunteer support vehicle was brought in to assist with traffic control.

The fire spread across an area of about 100m by 300m on a bluff overlooking the highway and crews were at the site until around 6pm.

Whanganui Fire Station station officer Gerard Packard was at the scene and said crews had the fire under control in about 30 minutes.

“Then it took us a couple of hours to mop up, turn everything over and make sure it was out fully.”

Packard said they were unsure of the cause of the fire at this stage, but he wanted to remind people to be aware of conditions when lighting fires.

“Though it appears to be pretty green out there, it is drying off underneath,” he said.

People needed to be especially cautious in windy conditions, as was the situation on Thursday, because the winds played a big part in spreading the fire.

“Just keep in mind that if you’re burning stuff or you’re holding an open fire, bear in mind the conditions and lighting [of fires] in consideration with the conditions.”

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.