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Eight months after raising concerns about wilding pines left unchecked on land above the village, Stillwater residents say they are no closer to having the issue resolved despite repeated attempts to contact the landowner.
In March this year (Hibiscus Matters, March 10) residents met to discuss fire preparedness in the area and agreed to approach the landowner to ask whether a firebreak, which had previously been maintained on the site, could be reinstated.
Stillwater resident Lisa Thwaite says the group managed to identify the managing owner, but despite multiple attempts to engage with him, they were told by his accountant that he was not willing to communicate.
Under section 62 of the Fire and Emergency Act, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) can require a landowner to create and clear a firebreak. Thwaite says that when FENZ did an assessment, the agency decided to take no action “due to the lack of actual ignition sources”.
Thwaite says residents feel they have come up against a brick wall.
“It’s ridiculous to say there are no ignition sources as there have been numerous small fires up there already, and now the warmer weather is here and once it dries out, all it will take is someone with fireworks or a cigarette and it will go up,” Thwaite says.
She says the block is not maintained like a forest plantation, meaning undergrowth is high and adds to the fuel load, while the treeline is hard against nearby houses.
“It wouldn’t take much for a fire to jump over to the houses. We’ve already had two serious house fires here and as we’ve seen, they get out of control quickly because of the water shortage in the village and the need to bring a tanker in for fires.”
Albany Ward councillor John Watson has been working with residents on the issue and says he will continue to press FENZ for a reassessment and to advocate for the firebreak to be reinstalled.
“There was a reason there was one before, so it’s common sense there should be one now,” he says.
According to FENZ data, the main causes of wildfires in New Zealand include pile burns, cigarettes, matches and candles. Although exact figures vary, FENZ also identifies arson as a major cause of wildfires nationwide.
