ag-11jan2013

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INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION

THE VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY 24/7

BURIED TREASURE

Open homes in Rakaia and Methven MORE DETAILS INSIDE

P7

Guardian

Ashburton

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

Friday, January 11, 2013

FIRST PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 1879

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Fire crews taxed to contain blaze By Sam Morton and APNZ Rakaia volunteer firefighters rushed to help control raging scrub fires south of Christchurch yesterday, spending most of the night battling thick smoke and raging flames. The firefighters joined more than 10 other fire crews, including five helicopters carrying monsoon buckets, in a monstrous attempt to contain the two large scrub fires on Shands Road and Selwyn Road respectively. As the fires continued to rage, four houses were engulfed and people were immediately forced to evacuate the area near Prebbleton and Lincoln, just after 3pm. Stock needed to be moved as the blaze swept through the dry

rural area and roads were blocked to stop traffic entering the area. Selwyn District Mayor Kelvin Coe was at the Selwyn Road fire and said appliances from all over Canterbury had come to help fight the blaze. “All hands are on deck.” They would be at the site for another 12 to 24 hours, he said. Anybody who had been evacuated because of the fires was urged to stay with friends or family. “For anyone who can’t, we have a welfare centre being set up at the Lincoln Events Centre to cater for any of their needs,” Mr Coe said. Ten people were rescued in a “snap rescue” at the fire on Shands Road, according to fire service centre manager Ian Lynn.

“They got in fast and got out fast,” he said. Late last night, the Prebbleton fire was brought under control, as helicopters with monsoon buckets immediately turned their focus to attack hotspots. However, the wind remained strong and firefighters were taking no chances in case of additional flare-ups. Critical to beating the blaze was preventing it from jumping across Springs Road, police said. Hedges and silos near Springs Road were engulfed at the peak of the blaze, but firefighters managed to keep it from jumping Springs Road into what would have been dry, open pastureland. Selwyn Road resident Catherine McDonald said the fire ran along the back of her 4ha property but at the time was not a direct threat. “I

think we’re pretty okay, because the wind’s going the other way, but if the wind changed it would come back towards us.” As the hours passed, more helicopters were called in to help douse the flames in Rolleston. Incident controller Chris Hewitt said last night the high winds were aggravating the situation. “The ember flow from the original fire is causing us great concern.” SPCA and animal rescue were also called into the rural area to deal with stock and stressed animals and ambulance crews were on standby through the night. It was expected some fire crews would remain at the scene until later today. A constant stream of lifestyle block owners towing horse floats

were allowed in and out of the cordoned area through the day as people salvaged animals and whatever else they could from their properties. Resident Amy Throsby, 20, said she was fearing the worst after she saw her home engulfed in black smoke yesterday. She believed the fire started in a quarry behind her property and spread to a neighbouring chicken farm. “We live next to the chicken farm and I could see black smoke behind our property. It just went up from there.” She said she grabbed her dog and fled in her car. “The wind is not helping at all.” Fire investigators remained at the scene overnight. -APNZ

photo Joseph Johnson

Smoke drifts across Christchurch suburbs as seen from the Port Hills.

Big clean up from wind Mountain bikers in for a rough ride Mid Cantabrians were left to pick up the pieces as gale force winds and heavy rain lashed the district throughout Wednesday night and yesterday. Multiple power outages were reported in the Mayfield area as well as Chertsey on Wednesday night after nor’-west winds caused power lines to touch and pushed tree branches into overhead lines. A 10 metre high bluegum tree narrowly missed Stocker Dairy Services along West Street on Wednesday night, when high winds felled the tree only metres from the shop. Mt Hutt recorded record gusts of up to 230km/h and wreaked havoc on the mountain, blowing out windows, wrecking four metre high wind fences and uplifting three solar panels. “That’s the first time we have recorded wind speeds of that magnitude. It’s not a safe place to be when it’s like that when you have rocks flying around, 230km/h is a pretty extreme wind and you definitely wouldn’t be able to stand up,” Mt Hutt Ski Area manager James McKenzie said. Yesterday, a power pole on Ashburton’s Kermode Street gave way in the wind and tipped over shadowing the road, leaving live overhead lines dangling in the middle of the street. “We were watching TV and saw the lights dip and wondered what was going on. It was lucky no one was driving down the road when it happened,” a Kermode Street resident said. EA Networks operations manager Ken Stirling said power outages resulted in several places throughout the district and linesmen worked throughout the night to reconnect rural residents. “We are having stronger winds than in recent times and it’s causing a few problems,” Mr Stirling said. He said the snapped power pole on Kermode Street was due to a weak point in an old pole, however no power was cut to residents and the pole was re-erected with a reinforcing post next to it. Rain battered the main divide until yesterday morning, causing rivers to swell and putting residents

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By Myles Hume

To see more or purchase photos

Photo Myles Hume 100113-MH-02

A Kermode Street power pole gave way in the wind yesterday as the district was battered by wild weather. along the banks of the Rangitata River on high alert. Environment Canterbury Southern duty flood controller Chris Fauth said the river rose well above its predicted height, flowing at 1300 cumecs and flooding low-lying areas, but “no significant damage” was reported from people monitoring the area. Among those in the main divide were the Preston family, of Ashburton, who were camping in North Canterbury’s Ashley Gorge on Wednesday night. Roaring winds shredded the family’s tent and prompted them to seek refuge in nearby accommodation before they cut their family holiday short and came home yesterday.

“There was a family staying nearby who were all in one tent and a gust of wind was that strong that it picked the whole tent up and took it about 10 to 12 metres in the air,” Mike Preston said. MetService duty forecaster Peter Knudsen said the wild weather was caused by a ridge that “stayed put” on the Southern Alps. He said the temperamental weather was not “terribly uncommon” for this time of year, however what Mid Canterbury has experienced along with other parts of the country was a bit more drastic compared with recent years. Ashburton is looking at fine weather in the coming days, with a high of 23°C today.

Photo Tetsuro Mitomo 100113-TM-071

Bike Methven’s Michael Breading warms up for a big weekend of mountain biking in Methven. The Mt Hutt Bike Park will host the maddest and baddest mountain bikers for the second round

of the BikeNZ Mountain Bike Downhill Cup featuring top New Zealand and international riders as well as a number of locals from the Bike Methven club. The competitors all have a practice day tomorrow to get

to know the new and improved course before getting down to business. The riders make the most of their practise runs to get their lines right so come the race they can mount their assault on the

course and the clock as the weekend all comes down to one race with one recorded time. Riders then have a seeding run on Sunday morning before the race runs get under way at 1pm. Home track advantage, P21

Today’s weather

HIGH LOW

23

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