Pigeon Valley Fire update 28 - 17:15 hours 10/02/2019
10 February 2019
Reminder: A state of emergency is still in place
Fire update
Sunday 10 February - a productive day with less wind than forecast. A successful controlled burn-off operation was carried out in Redwood Valley, which will offer protection to that area should the wind shift to the South again. Video footage of the burn off can be found here
Residents Access – four valleys
The focus this afternoon has been the operation to progress Residents Access visits to properties in the four Valleys – Eves, Teapot, Sunrise and Pigeon.
We undertook four consecutive restricted residential access programmes. A huge thank you to the communities for their support and cooperation.
General feedback was positive with residents relieved that there were no significant issues with their properties.
There were some challenges with the Pigeon Valley programme given the dynamic nature of the fire at the location. The additional complication of the State Highway cordons through Wakefield caused a delay for some residents and we will be working to resolve this issue for future access.
Residents Access – Wakefield
Unfortunately, there is currently no temporary access possible for residents to return to properties in Wakefield. This is because of the ongoing risk presented by the fire and wind conditions in Wakefield.
We are currently working through some options to offer restricted access however this will depend on the availability of resources and the behaviour of the fire.
Donations
Thanks again to everyone who is offering support through financial donations. Please direct all donations through the Mayoral Relief Fund which can be accessed through the Tasman District Council website, as this is the secure, official channel. You'll find more information at www.nelsontasmancivildefence.co.nz
Community meetings
We will be holding two community meetings tomorrow evening – Monday 11 February.
5.30pm at Appleby School
7.30pm at Hope Community Church Ranzau Road
Animal Welfare
Today we entered Pigeon Valley for the first time in several days. Fortunately, the fire had not reached any grazing areas or any animals.
We also had assisted access to parts of Teapot Valley, Eves Valley and Redwood Valley. Approximately 100 sheep were evacuated from Eves Valley. We fed and watered as many animals as we could in these areas.
This afternoon we’re assisted with emergency evacuations in Wakefield for high priority animals.
Our teams are on standby to assist with any further evacuations.
Where possible, animals are being tended to in place, which is less stressful for them.
More than 300 animals are now being cared for at the Showgrounds, where a there is housing, food and water. Animals of any size can be brought directly to the Showgrounds to be looked after by the amazing team of volunteers.
People have been visiting the showgrounds to look at the animals. This can be a hindrance for the teams looking after animals and moving animals onto the site. If you don’t have anything to do with the animals, please stay away.
Anyone worried about animals in the fire affected area, or anybody looking to volunteer, should phone MPI on 0800 008 333 (option 4).
We are processing these calls as fast as we can allocate available crews to accompany animal welfare teams to check on properties.
If you have contacted our 0800 number and left a message we will return your call as quickly as we can. We are dealing with a large number of calls and have put more people on our phones to answer and make calls.
For further information please visit the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence website
Further updates
Updates will be available on the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence website and facebook page, both Nelson City and Tasman District Council facebook pages and websites, and through Newstalk ZB 1341AM and BrianFm radio at 105.6 FM.
Ends.
Media Contact:
Nelson Tasman Civil Defence and Emergency Management
027 703 0409
Further updates will be provided as soon as it is available