Long Gully (Coronet Peak) fire update #4

21 Kohitātea 2023

Two crews of firefighters will return to the Long Gully fireground on the Skippers Road this morning to deal with a small number of hotspots.

Fire and Emergency Incident Controller Nic McQuillan says that an aerial reconnaissance at first light showed no visible smoke but thermal imaging identified one hotspot and two other areas that need to be investigated by ground crews.

The flight also confirmed that a historic hut on the edge of the fireground has not been damaged by the fire.

The Skippers Road has reopened to the public this morning, with traffic management in place to enable fire crews to operate safely in the area.

Four mountainbike trails in the Long Gully area will remain closed until the crews have finished today. They are the Skippers Pack Track, the Coronet Loop below Greengate Saddle, the Pack Track and Sack Trail and Atleys Terrace Track.

Nic McQuillan thanked tourist operators and Skippers residents for their understanding while the road was closed yesterday, and mountainbikers for choosing other trails while fire crews and helicopters were suppressing the fire.