A fire on the Banks Peninsula overnight that put nearby campers’ lives at risk is being treated as “suspicious”.
Fire and Emergency NZ said the fire at Taylors Mistake, on the edge of the Port Hills, was reported at 12.25am and crews from Sumner, Christchurch, Lyttleton and Woolston attended.
Specialist fire investigator Bruce Irvine said the lives of campers at nearby Godley Head were put at risk by the fire.
“Evacuations were only averted thanks to the swift work of firefighters.
“There is only one access road to Taylors Mistake, so if anyone in the area saw vehicle movements or has any footage around the time of the fire, we would ask them to contact Police on 105, the non-emergency phone number.”
Irvine said FENZ’s Canterbury risk reduction team would be speaking with the Department of Conservation this week about strategies to mitigate fire risk as “extremely dry” conditions persist across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact police and residents on the access road with CCTV cameras are asked to check footage between 11pm and 1am.
The entire Canterbury region, consisting of the Canterbury and Mid-South Canterbury fire districts, are under a restricted fire season until further notice.
