Waipara update #6

4 Mahuru 2024

75 firefighters at the Waipara fire in North Canterbury are today focusing on dealing with hotspots across the fire ground and continuing to consolidate control lines.

"Our crews, supported by heavy machinery, will also be working to open two skid sites, which have deep seated burning," Fire and Emergency New Zealand Incident Commander Brian Keown says.

"These two sites are producing a lot of the visible smoke, which will reduce as work is completed," he says.

Brian Keown says 10mm of rain in the last 24 hours has assisted firefighting efforts and they’ve been able to stop aircraft operations.

"But the fire isn’t extinguished, and the rain has made surfaces slippery and difficult for firefighters and vehicles," he says.

"Overnight our drone identified hotspots and mapped the fire area, which is approximately 108 hectares."

The Waipara Fire Incident management team has reduced in size and is still working out of the Waipara Fire Station.

Fire crews expect to stay at the fire ground for the rest of the week.

The fire began in a forestry block north of Waipara on the evening of 29 August.