After 120 days Northland's fire ban has been lifted, although restrictions still apply on Department of Conservation land and parts of the Far North.
Exempted areas include the Aupouri/Karikari Rural Fire District, which covers the area north of Awanui and State Highway10 east to Inland Rd and the entire Karikari Peninsula. In those areas the total fire ban has been downgraded to a restricted fire season, which means permits are required before lighting any fires in the open. Permits are available from the Far North District Council or DoC.
The Whangarei District Council is urging people to use common sense and delay fires until after water restrictions are lifted.
The ban was being lifted to allow farmers and forest owners to use fire as a tool for land clearing and pasture renewal before the onset of winter.
However, water restrictions will remain in place - and may even be strengthened.
Whangarei District Council group manager infrastructure services Simon Weston said council water staff were concerned about the prospect of low rainfall over the next three months. "People have been asking when the water restrictions will be lifted, but there is a real possibility that they may be strengthened in the weeks to come if we get no more rain and the dam level continues to fall. I cannot state forcefully enough how every single person on the
Whau Valley water supply needs to cut water use now."
Mr Weston said wasting water to manage backyard fires that could have been delayed would be a real waste.
Far North principal rural fire officer Lance Johnston said although it was now an open fire season in much of the Far North, anyone thinking about lighting a fire was still strongly urged to use common sense.
"Some areas are still very dry for this time of the year and people still need to pick the right conditions and be very cautious." Any land owners planning a substantial burn-off should advise the council in advance to avoid any unnecessary fire call-outs.
Mr Johnston said anyone who lit a fire that then got out of control could still face firefighting costs. Since the ban was imposed on December 28, rural fires in the Far North alone had cost $1.6million to fight.
Whangarei principal fire officer Kevin Ihaka said the forecast for May was for normal rainfall.
Fire ban ends but use your head
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