Christchurch’s Adventure Park has been affected by the Port Hills fires, but how badly is yet to be confirmed, a director says.
Follow our Port Hills fire live updates here.
Fire crews resumed their battle against the blaze this morning with 23 appliances, supported by 13 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft, tackling it from the ground and air.
Christchurch Adventure Park Limited director John McVicar told the Herald the fire had impacted the park.
“To what extent I don’t know at this time,” he said. ”We’re completely devastated by it, especially after it’s only been a few years since the last one. We don’t have enough information really to have a good assessment of what’s happened. Until we do we will be able to assess.
“It’s really just left up to Fire and Emergency to deal with it the way they do.”
On Thursday afternoon the Adventure Park said in a Facebook post the park had sustained damage to trees and some of the ziplines as a result.
“As a result of this and the ongoing status of the fires, we are closed until further notice. Customers who have booked zipline tours within the next two weeks, and pass holders, will be contacted directly via email today.
The Adventure Park was due to host a major event in a fortnight with the Crankworx Summer Series mountain biking event from March 1 to March 3.
The Adventure Park said it was in discussion with the organisers about the event. No decision had been made.
A regular user of the park told the Herald it was “so gutting” to see fire in the park just as the trees were coming back after the 2017 fire.
Last year the Christchurch Adventure Park lost an appeal after being ordered to pay $12 million in damages to homeowners following the Port Hills fires in 2017.
The fire, which was lit by an arsonist near the boundary of the Christchurch Adventure Park (CAP), burned through nearly 2000 hectares of forestry, 11 homes and caused a significant amount of property damage for dozens of homeowners.
In 2021, High Court Justice David Gendall ruled that while CAP, owned and operated by Leisure Investments NZ Limited Partnership, didn’t start the blaze, it was liable for the spread of the fire and ordered the company to pay the owners of 80 damaged homes a total of $12m.
CAP appealed the ruling in 2022 and argued it had no idea its chairlift was a potential fire risk and could contribute to the spread of the blaze. It disputed liability for damages in the Court of Appeal, claiming they weren’t properly informed of the risks by the chairlift company, Doppelmayr. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge.
In the High Court decision, Justice Gendall found “a reasonable operator” would have appreciated plastic on the chairlift could melt and spread the fire and would have removed the chairs from the rope. CAP also failed to remove pine slash from under the chairlift - in breach of the park’s fire safety management plan - and didn’t take away highly flammable mats from around the chairlift, Justice Gendall found.
Legal counsel for the park challenged the findings, saying: “What happened was an entirely unforeseen and unprecedented event”. But the Court of Appeal dismissed the suit because the park owners knew most of the chairlift ran through pine forests, next to housing, and knew there was a possibility the fire could spread there.
Police are urging “disaster tourists” to stay away from the fire.
Fire crews resumed their battle against the blaze this morning with 23 appliances, supported by 13 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft, tackling it from the ground and air.
The main fire is now centred around Summit Rd with 80 properties having been evacuated.
Fire and Emergency’s Brad Mosby said there have been no significant outbreaks overnight and the fire has burnt through 630 HA with a 12km perimeter. No properties have been lost.
“Our approach today will be to hit the fire hard,” Mosby said.
But Police manager Ash Tabb said disaster tourists were becoming an issue for those fighting the fire, as they keep blocking roads and stopping equipment coming in.
People wanting to take a look at the fire were also stopping residents from coming in and out.
“We just need people out of the way.”
These “tourists” are affecting not only EMS staff accessing the fire site but also residents getting in and out at what was already a very stressful time.
Tabb said the behaviour is driven by people “wanting to get shots on their social media accounts”.
Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell, in Christchurch, joined the plea for people to stay away and stop interfering.
“Allow FENZ and police to do their job.”
The 19-year-old was found in a remote area in the hills of Upper Hutt.