Fire & Emergency New Zealand

Lee Valley fire update #9

Lee Valley fire update #9

Firefighters have established the 1.2-kilometre containment line at the Lee Valley fire.

Incident Controller Steve Trigg says the hard work of the crews in tough conditions had paid off.

“We have a satisfactory containment line in and we’ve been able to give residents of evacuated homes restricted access to their properties.

“This is a big step, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to extinguish this fire.”

Crews will monitor the fire ground overnight, with more firefighters and helicopters back in operation tomorrow as extinguishment work continues.

The investigation is ongoing, however suspicious causes have been eliminated.

With more sunshine and warm weather ahead for the next week, it’s again an important reminder to be vigilant around activities that can generate sparks during this very dry fire season, and that a simple spark can have devastating impacts on people, property and the environment, as well as pets and livestock.

This will be the final update for the day unless significant developments occur. The next update is expected to be mid-morning on Saturday.