Kirwee fire update #8

5 February 2024

Two ground crews and a drone crew will monitor the fire ground overnight at Kirwee to ensure the fire remains under control.

Two helicopters will fly until dusk tonight as work to extinguish the fire continues.

Incident Controller Dave Berry says the crews had done a superb job today to get the fire to the point it is tonight.

“It was a massive effort today by all our firefighters, pilots and support staff in hot, trying conditions.

“As a result of this excellent work, we have made considerable progress in extinguishing the fire.”

The ground crews will be patrolling the fire ground tonight to extinguish any hotspots or flareups. They will be aided by the drone crew carrying out aerial surveillance identifying hotspots.

Tuesday will see several crews back on the ground supported by aircraft and machinery continuing to work to extinguish the fire.

Dave Berry says the fire danger will remain very high and urged people to take extra care.

“Across Canterbury today we have seen multiple avoidable fires occur and we remind people who carried out burns to check their burn piles and ensure they are raked out and extinguished. We also remind everyone that we are in a total fire ban,” he says.

“With the continued hot weather tomorrow, we ask everyone to ensure they don’t carry out any activity that may cause a spark and ignition. If anyone sees smoke or fire, please ring 111 immediately.

“Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to the community for their ongoing support as we continue our work.”

This is the last update for the night, unless significant developments occur. The next update is expected to be around 10am on Tuesday.