Fire Ban Coming for New Plymouth District

The continuing dry weather in New Plymouth District has prompted a total fire ban in both rural and urban areas.


From midnight this Monday (4 February) all fires – including incinerators, wood or coal barbecues and hangi – will be prohibited in New Plymouth District, in conjunction with a ban in South Taranaki. Only gas-fired BBQs will be allowed.

“The last time we had a fire prohibition was during the Samurai Summer of 2003, when The Last Samurai was being filmed here,” says Rural Fire Officer Lester Barnes.

“The soil and plant matter are bone-dry in the district so a prohibition for both rural and urban areas has become necessary.”

Currently (Friday) New Plymouth District’s build-up indices – which calculate rainfall, wind speed, temperature and relative humidity – are sitting at 57 and are rising by three points a day. A rating of 60 is extreme, and the point when a fire ban is put in place.

“Within those indices is what we call a drought code, which measures the water depletion of the soil, and that is sitting at extreme,” says Mr Barnes.