2024 Port Hills Fire Investigation Report.
Today Fire and Emergency released its Fire Investigation Report into the 2024 Port Hills fire.
Just after 2pm on 14 February 2024 Fire and Emergency New Zealand was alerted to a vegetation fire on Worsleys Road on the Christchurch Port Hills. The fire quickly spread, a residential structure was destroyed, and various other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed. Emergency services carried out multiple evacuations and a state of emergency was declared by both Christchurch City and Selwyn District Councils.
The fire burnt across the Port Hills for three weeks and involved firefighters from across Te Ihu, multiple aircraft and ground machinery, a large number of support and incident management personnel, and Fire and Emergency’s specialist drone team.
Our Fire and Emergency fire investigation report located a specific area of origin on private land, but the cause of the fire remains undetermined. A copy of the fire investigation report is now on our website: 2024 Port Hills Fire Investigation Report. (external link)
Investigators were unable to identify a specific ignition source and the property owner where the fire started advised investigators there had been no activity or equipment used on the day of the fire. As the cause of the fire cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty, it is classified as undetermined. However, if further information becomes available, the investigation will be reopened.
Our legal advice is that, due to privacy reasons, Fire and Emergency is unable to release the specific area of origin of the fire because it is on private property,
At a media stand up this afternoon, District Commander Dave Stackhouse acknowledged this may be disappointing for all those who were affected by the Port Hills fire in February and were hoping for answers
“Our investigation into the cause of the fire included three experienced wildfire investigators working alongside the New Zealand Police and who arrived in Christchurch the day after the fire started.
“They interviewed three witnesses who were in the vicinity of the fire when it started and were the first to report the fire to 111. They assessed photos and videos of the early stages of the fire which were sent in by the public or captured on CCTV,” he says.
“In the lead up to the fire, Canterbury was experiencing a warm, dry summer, combined with dry vegetation across the District. These conditions assisted in the ignition and spread of the fire.”
Dave Stackhouse says that while the cause of the fire is undetermined, significant incidents like this one are a strong reminder that everyone should take steps to protect themselves from wildfire.
During the stand up, he reminded people that now is the time to prepare for the upcoming fire season, encouraging people to develop an emergency plan and consult checkitsalright.co.nz(external link) before lighting a fire.
Once again, thanks to the many volunteers and staff who worked long hours to contain and extinguish the Port Hills fire.