Come on - keep it green

Rural Fire Status

Restricted fire season partially lifted from midnight Friday, 16 April 2010
- read more...

Please see map for permanently restricted areas "Brunswick", "Lismore/Mangamahu".

Fire season status

The official fire season starts on October 1 and ends on April 30 in the following year.

There are three categories of fire season:

Open fire season - No permit required

The lighting of fires in the open air in that area or district is neither prohibited or restricted.

Restricted fire season - Permit required

A permit to burn in the open air must be obtained for urban areas year-round and for rural areas in certain locations and conditions. In a restricted fire season any person who wants to burn off materials in incinerators, have controlled burns of vegetation or light fires for any reason must first obtain a free fire permit.

Wanganui District has zones which are permanently restricted. These are Brunswick, Lismore/Mangamahu and Department of Conservation reserves. See map for detail.

Prohibited fire season - No fires; existing permits cancelled

A prohibited fire season is a total fire ban in both the rural and urban fire districts. No fires are to be lit in the open air. The prohibited fire season is declared when certain fire danger thresholds are reached, generally from mid to late December through to early March. However, there may be specific health and safety reasons for which a special permit may be granted in a prohibited fire season.

The prohibited fire season is advertised in the Council's Community Link page in the Wanganui Chronicle, on the radio and signs are erected in various locations throughout the District. If you are unsure of the fire season, please contact the Wanganui District Council, phone (06) 349 0001, or NZ Fire Rescue Service, phone (06) 348 0103.

Rural Fire Authority

The Wanganui District Council is a Rural Fire Authority and is responsible for ensuring the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977 is being complied with in the Wanganui District.

The Council has appointed a Principal Rural Fire Officer who is responsible for ensuring that the necessary management functions are in place. This includes actions to reduce the risk and severity of fire, and monitoring the fire danger on a daily basis during the fire season. Other key tasks include ensuring preparedness by having available a means of fire suppression to efficiently and effectively manage rural fires.

The Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977 requires Rural Fire Authorities to have an operational fire plan. The Wanganui District Rural Fire Authority is responsible for reviewing and updating the Rural Fire Plan Part One (Operational) every year. The Rural Fire Plan Part Two is a statement of fire control policy, chain of command and procedures by a Rural Fire Authority.