Christchurch Port Hills fire cost DoC $4.5 million

Firefighters pictured at work dampening down hotspots from the bushfires that blazed through the Port Hills overlooking Christchurch. Photo / Alan Gibson

Fighting the Port Hills fires cost more than $4.5million.

Two fires, several kilometres apart, started in early February this year; two days later they had combined. Helicopter pilot and ex-SAS soldier Steve Askin died when his chopper crashed trying to fight the fires. Nine houses were destroyed and two were significantly damaged. Hundreds of people were evacuated.

Department of Conservation spokesman Andy Roberts said DoC contributed more than $3.5m in operational costs and $1m in staff and other internal costs. This amounted to about half of last year's firefighting costs of $8.7m.

"The Department supplied more than 130 fully trained rural firefighters, including fire behaviour experts, air attack managers and sector leaders during the fires, which started in February and burned for two months.

"If we add in time spent on aerial mapping, incident planning and other background support roles, that would come to more than 11,000 hours of staff time, some of whom were on duty for up to 15 hours a day. This all amounts to about 50 per cent of the total costs incurred on the Port Hills fires, which destroyed some 1660ha."

DoC has to respond to fires within a 1km margin of protected areas. No public conservation land was burned in the Port Hills fire.

DoC had also helped fight major fires at Broken River, Hawke's Bay, Hanmer and Queenstown during last summer's fire season. More than 460 staff are fully trained to fight fires on or near conservation land.

Roberts urged rural Kiwis to be careful with fire as "prevention is better than the very expensive cure".

"DoC will always have an interest in rural fire and the threat it poses to the natural and heritage values that DOC is charged with protecting.

"The recent pattern of fires and their increasing occurrence in the east and north of both islands indicates a need for increased vigilance because of climate change effects and the department will play a significant role in that."