Message to landowners: you are responsible for the fires you light

26 Pipiri 2026

Landowners whose unattended burn piles caused a string of vegetation fires across Canterbury last Saturday are being visited by Fire and Emergency New Zealand to ensure they understand their responsibilities for land management fires.

District Commander Dave Stackhouse said that 11 fires escaped and spread quickly in the severe nor-westerly winds. As a result, the district’s firefighters were stretched to levels normally only seen in mid-summer. “I am very disappointed at the number of fires that had been left unattended,” he said. “If it hadn’t rained later on Saturday, we would have been calling on brigades from other districts to assist.”

As it was, almost every fire brigade in Canterbury was called out, so volunteers were called away from their families and Saturday activities for fires that were mostly completely avoidable.

The winds were well forecast so should not have caught anyone by surprise.

While Canterbury is currently in an open fire season, meaning permits are not required for outdoor fires, landowners are always responsible for the fires that they light on their properties. The same applies to forestry managers.

Under Section 60 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, it is an offence to cause or allow a fire to get out of control and to spread to vegetation or property. The penalties for individuals include a fine of up to $300,000 and up to two years imprisonment.

The message was very simple, Commander Stackhouse said: if you light a fire, you are responsible for it.

While Fire and Emergency always preferred to educate people rather than prosecute, at least one of last Saturday’s fires was on a property where there had been an escaped land management fire within the last year.

Fires must not be left unattended and have to be completely extinguished, not left to smoulder. When strong winds are forecast, anyone who has lit a fire should be checking for hotspots that could be reignited.

There is extensive advice at www.checkitsalright.nz.

Vegetation across Canterbury is already unusually dry for this time of year, and the outlook suggests a very high risk of wildfire in spring and summer because of the predicted El Nino weather pattern.