Port Hills Wildfires

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Ultimate Geek

#1721007 16-Feb-2017 08:48

Sitting at home in Westmorland at the moment, waiting for a knock on the door to tell us to leave. Tried to briefly get out this morning, but was told at the roadblock at the bottom of our hill that it would be a one-way trip - they're letting people leave, but nobody goes back in. So, return home, pack the car, and wait...

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

BTR

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#1721016 16-Feb-2017 09:05

joker97: Apparently the rural fire fighters contained it on Tuesday and then went to bed. With the plan to put it out in the morning

Welcome to New Zealand

Do you have proof of this or are you another arm chair professor who is throwing out remarks?. IMHO if you have to start a sentence that could be seen as damaging to someones reputation with the word "apparently" you are better off not saying anything at all until you have proof.

CruciasNZ

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#1721033 16-Feb-2017 09:53

I cannot verify the following statement, but someone at work told me they were in a pub on Tuesday night and some off duty cops told them the fire started near the house of that guy put away last week for indecently touching 15 children; they reckoned it was a family member trying to get a measure of revenge.

Either way, the fire is pretty dramatic and I can watch it expand from my office window near the airport. Yesterday most of the smoke was coming from a small gulley, but today I can see it coming from this side of the hill alarmingly close to Cashmere. Fortunately the wind looks like it is pushing it south away from the city right now, which may stop it spreading towards the more populated sections of the hill.

Edit: Typo to obvious for my OCD to ignore

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jnimmo

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#1721049 16-Feb-2017 10:18

We could do with some cloud seeding for some rain - although I'm sure that may rely on certain weather conditions to work, but sounds like they've used it effectively around the world for various scenarios.

tdgeek

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#1721054 16-Feb-2017 10:30

jnimmo:

We could do with some cloud seeding for some rain - although I'm sure that may rely on certain weather conditions to work, but sounds like they've used it effectively around the world for various scenarios.

Do they do that? I watched a doco on it years ago, and it was very ineffective. They need another 50 choppers, so that a drench is followed by another

MikeB4

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#1721055 16-Feb-2017 10:34

tdgeek:

jnimmo:

We could do with some cloud seeding for some rain - although I'm sure that may rely on certain weather conditions to work, but sounds like they've used it effectively around the world for various scenarios.

Do they do that? I watched a doco on it years ago, and it was very ineffective. They need another 50 choppers, so that a drench is followed by another

Has the RNZAF got the NH 90's there ?

ResponseMediaNZ

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#1721056 16-Feb-2017 10:35

tdgeek:

There is no thread on this.

Brownlee was right No state of emergency till it was too far gone. Hopeless. Yesterday it was growing first thing, went right down at midday then took off. The main front has been moving east. At 7 this morning it was another valley over, and low, bit still just a real problem scrub fire. But it went wild today, very wild, and it wasn't till early evening its a state of emergency. No one outside the councils can act until then. The choppers are doing a great job, as are the crop dusters who are spraying retardant. But there needs to be 50 not 15.

Sorry Tony I totally disagree with you. This fire comes under the Forest & Rural Fires Act. This has been managed at the highest level since it started. It is a complex fire that has just about every resource in canterbuy being used. Rural Fire can bring in who ever they want when ever they, they do not have to want for CDEM to act...

This is also not CCC's fire to manage it started in Selwyn DC's patch

A CDEM declaration would have not changed how we manage this fire...

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#1721063 16-Feb-2017 10:46

BTR:

joker97: Apparently the rural fire fighters contained it on Tuesday and then went to bed. With the plan to put it out in the morning

Welcome to New Zealand

Do you have proof of this or are you another arm chair professor who is throwing out remarks?. IMHO if you have to start a sentence that could be seen as damaging to someones reputation with the word "apparently" you are better off not saying anything at all until you have proof.

I don't have proof, going by what social media and "news" agencies report.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/02/fires-in-christchurch-hawke-s-bay-rage-overnight.html

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/89461019/civil-defence-minister-gerry-brownlee-perplexed-by-response-to-christchurch-fires

tdgeek

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#1721092 16-Feb-2017 11:17

ResponseMediaNZ:

tdgeek:

There is no thread on this.

Brownlee was right No state of emergency till it was too far gone. Hopeless. Yesterday it was growing first thing, went right down at midday then took off. The main front has been moving east. At 7 this morning it was another valley over, and low, bit still just a real problem scrub fire. But it went wild today, very wild, and it wasn't till early evening its a state of emergency. No one outside the councils can act until then. The choppers are doing a great job, as are the crop dusters who are spraying retardant. But there needs to be 50 not 15.

Sorry Tony I totally disagree with you. This fire comes under the Forest & Rural Fires Act. This has been managed at the highest level since it started. It is a complex fire that has just about every resource in canterbuy being used. Rural Fire can bring in who ever they want when ever they, they do not have to want for CDEM to act...

This is also not CCC's fire to manage it started in Selwyn DC's patch

A CDEM declaration would have not changed how we manage this fire...

Thanks Justin, good to know. That makes GB a bit foot in mouth? What I said about not being able to act is what he said, in fact I am sure he even used the 'law" word.

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#1721093 16-Feb-2017 11:19

MikeB4:

tdgeek:

jnimmo:

We could do with some cloud seeding for some rain - although I'm sure that may rely on certain weather conditions to work, but sounds like they've used it effectively around the world for various scenarios.

Do they do that? I watched a doco on it years ago, and it was very ineffective. They need another 50 choppers, so that a drench is followed by another

Has the RNZAF got the NH 90's there ?

Haven't noticed, but haven't looked either

Justin?

MikeB4

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#1721102 16-Feb-2017 11:28

Just a wild thought, when the Defence Force retires the C130's and the Navy's Kaman SH-2G they could be assigned to firefighting duties. The C130 would make an awesome water bomber and move men and equipment as could the Sea sprites. Given the onslaught of climate change I feel we are going to need them.

LookingUp

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Ultimate Geek

#1721119 16-Feb-2017 11:41

tdgeek:

MikeB4:

tdgeek:

jnimmo:

We could do with some cloud seeding for some rain - although I'm sure that may rely on certain weather conditions to work, but sounds like they've used it effectively around the world for various scenarios.

Do they do that? I watched a doco on it years ago, and it was very ineffective. They need another 50 choppers, so that a drench is followed by another

Has the RNZAF got the NH 90's there ?

Haven't noticed, but haven't looked either

Justin?

Just choppers around Worsley's Spur / Westmorland as far as I can tell. Pretty quiet here now, so they must be off dealing with fire elsewhere. Fingers crossed that means we're safe for the moment.

Will be staying close to home until things loosen up, as my wife got a bit of a quizzing from the boys in blue earlier when she popped out for a nosey. Good on them for looking out for looters I guess...

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

tdgeek

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#1721125 16-Feb-2017 11:48

From my view (Aidanfield), the choppers seem mainly at Dyers Rd area. But it looks eerily MUCH better now. But it looked like that yesterday mid morning, then it went wild middayish. 30k winds due about 2pm, E to NE as it was yesterday

Coil

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#1721128 16-Feb-2017 11:50

MikeB4:

Just a wild thought, when the Defence Force retires the C130's and the Navy's Kaman SH-2G they could be assigned to firefighting duties. The C130 would make an awesome water bomber and move men and equipment as could the Sea sprites. Given the onslaught of climate change I feel we are going to need them.

If they didnt cost millions in repairs to keep them flying each year :(

I think they are EOL regardless. An airframe that tired i wouldnt assume it would be good for it scooping water and bombing. You can get a 747 water bomber tho!

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#1721135 16-Feb-2017 11:57

TimA:

MikeB4:

Just a wild thought, when the Defence Force retires the C130's and the Navy's Kaman SH-2G they could be assigned to firefighting duties. The C130 would make an awesome water bomber and move men and equipment as could the Sea sprites. Given the onslaught of climate change I feel we are going to need them.

If they didnt cost millions in repairs to keep them flying each year :(

I think they are EOL regardless.

C130's like the C47 never die they go on and on and on .......

In Military use any aircraft is going to cost a lot per annum because of the nature of the tasks they do. Being assigned to fire fighting would see less strain on the airframe and avionics. Just look at some of the machines doing the task around the world some are antiques.

Also the C130 can land and take off just about anywhere.

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