Canterbury fires update

9 Hakihea 2024

Firefighters will be working overnight on the vegetation fires at West Melton and Kirwee.

Fire and Emergency Incident Commander Dave Key says that both fires are contained. Work today has focused on blacking out the perimeter of the firegrounds. Crews will be patrolling overnight to deal quickly with any flare-ups.

"We know that people in the area will be anxious, so I want to reassure residents that we will be here tonight and back again tomorrow to continue extinguishing both these fires," Dave Key says.

Fire and Emergency has worked with local farmers affected by the West Melton fire to move stock to safety.

Conditions are forecast to continue to be windy and hot, and it's expected to take at least another two days to completely extinguish these fires.

A 30km/hr speed restriction remains in place for a stretch of Old West Coast Road in the vicinity of the West Melton fire, to enable fire crews to move around the area safely.

Fire crews have also been working on hotspots at the site of the Bridge Hill wildfire, which broke out overnight last Thursday.

Incident Commander Colin Russell says that Fire and Emergency's specialist drone crew will be carrying out thermal imaging tonight to identify any remaining fire activity. Firefighters will tackle these tomorrow.

"All going to plan, we will be able to cease operations at Bridge Hill by tomorrow evening," Colin Russell says.