Representatives from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and Te Kākahu Kahukura (TKK), a community-led group formed after the 2017 Port Hills fire, are developing a landscape-scale fire strategy to help safeguard the Port Hills from the impact of future wildfires.
With representatives from Christchurch City Council, ECan, mana whenua, private landowners and conservation organisations, TKK has hosted a series of community-led actions to help safeguard communities and the environment from future wildfire events.
“The fire strategy will help us understand the impact of wildfires and to look at regeneration and protection measures,” said TKK chair, Craig Pauling. “We have already begun work to understand how fire has affected the vegetation and how it responds - which might help us both to understand what might happen in the future and to plan for it."
As with most successful strategies, Pauling believes collaboration – of knowledge, resources, tactics and technologies - will form the pathway for protecting the Port Hills.
“All the research points to climate change-induced wildfires becoming an increased threat to our ecology and our communities. We must act now to lessen their potential impact on our environment and on our socioeconomic wellbeing and sustainability.”
At a recent community meeting, FENZ and researchers from Lincoln University talked about the importance of a unified response – from policy adjustments at a national government level, the need for increased investment in FENZ, strategic planning at local and regional government level, and community involvement.
“The emergence of a more severe wildfire climate in New Zealand requires a multifaceted approach. Basically, the more tools you use, the better your chances of success”, says Lincoln University Associate Professor, Tim Curran. “Multiple layers [of actions] improve success, and in the context of the Port Hills that means firefighting strategies, ecological actions and community engagement.”
Those ecological actions include planting ‘green’ firebreaks to protect core areas, and developing community-driven management plans that integrate plant and animal pest control, and favour low-flammability native forest species over highly flammable invasive plant species.
“Fuel is a key determinant of fire behaviour and during wildfires, the main fuel is plants. That means if we plant green fire breaks and low flammability plants, we can manipulate, to some degree, the main fuel source, which in turn can help lessen the severity and impact of these fires.”
Green firebreaks are essentially strips of vegetation made up of plants with low flammability. Whilst hillsides can prove problematic for the effectiveness of green firebreaks, they remain a useful tool to slow or stop the fire fronts and block radiant heat.
“Green firebreaks also serve other purposes,” says Sophie Hartnell from Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust. “They can improve biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, such as providing food sources, habitat, erosion control and better soil nutrients.”
Green fire breaks are also a way to engage communities. Planting low-flammability species in gardens and on property boundaries is one way people can help prepare for and mitigate the impact of wildfires.
“It’s clear to us that we need a multi-pronged approach to manage wildfires in the Port Hills. We need technology and innovation, we need to look at our firefighting resources, and importantly, we need community input and action. Building resilience and safety is our priority,” said Pauling.