A Burnt-out car in Kaikōura. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
Canterbury is under a state of local emergency with damaging gusts of up to 150 kilometres per hour forecast under a series of high-level red strong wind warnings.
Fire chiefs warned there would be little chance of controlling wildfires if they broke out in such extreme conditions.
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell signed the declaration in response to the severe weather, as firefighters continue working on contained fires in Kaikōura that have destroyed five homes.
The red strong wind warnings cover the Canterbury High Country, Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains, Marlborough from Cape Campbell south, including the Kaikōura Coast and Wellington and Wairarapa south of Carterton.
Fire and Emergency Canterbury region manager Brad Mosby urged people to take the warnings seriously.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
"Yesterday's fires at Kaikōura show how quickly any fire will spread and how difficult it is to bring under control," he said.
"With the winds in excess of 100km/h there is little chance that our firefighters will be able to control any developing wildfire. The ability for us to use aircraft such as helicopters will be highly unlikely."
Fire and firework bans were in place in Marlborough, Canterbury, Mid South Canterbury as well as Hawke's Bay and Wellington, including Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa.
Fire and Emergency assistant national commander Ken Cooper told Checkpoint that people should report any sign of flare-ups in Kaikōura.
"Reignition remains really high risk for us due to the high winds, but as yet not causing us too much concern," he said.
"We are again asking locals, remain vigilant and report and signs of fires that reignite."
The state of local emergency would ensure local Civil Defence had access to the emergency powers needed to respond and support emergency services.
SH1 north of Kaikōura. Photo: RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
Mitchell, who was flying to Christchurch on Wednesday night, told Checkpoint such widespread, high-level warnings for wind were unusual.
"I'm always concerned about these events, keeping people safe is what we're about and what we're trying to do. We are a country that has had tragedy, if we look back to the most recent one with Cyclone Gabrielle," he said.
"My approach to emergency management is quite simply being proactive, making decisions early and making sure that we get the right people, the assets and the things that we need in place early so that we can keep people safe."
Canterbury Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller James Thompson said people should avoid all non-essential travel.
"Some high-risk roads may end up getting closed under the emergency management powers tomorrow," he said.
The National Emergency Management Agency activated its national co-ordination centre in response to the fires in Kaikōura and Hawke's Bay and Thursday's forecast.
Kaikōura was bracing for destructive winds, with crews dousing hotspots and strengthening containment lines.
People who were evacuated from their homes could return from 5pm on Wednesday but were warned they should be prepared to leave again.
Along State Highway 1, scorched fencing, power poles and vegetation lined the road.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Kaikōura District Council chief executive Will Doughty said staff were supporting families in the worst affected area along Bay Paddock and Old Beach Roads.
"We are prioritising working with them because it's been incredibly traumatic for them and we want to make sure they get all of the support they need at this point in time," he said.
MainPower crews were scrambling to restore power before the gales hit, with hundreds of properties around Kaikōura still without power on Wednesday afternoon.
MainPower acting chief executive Damien Whiffen warned that Thursday's fierce winds could cut power to about 20,000 homes and businesses in North Canterbury, with Hanmer Springs an area of concern.
"We're certainly preparing for the worst case scenario at the moment. We've stood up our emergency operations centre and we've secured as much external resource to assist our internal resource as we can," he said.
Whiffen urged people to prepare for power cuts, including charging mobile phones.
Fire and Emergency incident controller Dave Key said Kaikōura crews were preparing to ramp up resources and had already brought in more firefighters from the south.
"There are a number of dangerous trees out now that are burning from the inside out so that's a priority for us and really strengthening our containment lines while we've got this small weather window before the wind picks up," he said.
Key urged anyone with old burn piles to make sure they were extinguished because the wind could send embers flying.
Orange strong wind warnings were in place for Marlborough north of Cape Campbell, Otago, Clutha, Southland and Stewart Island, along with orange heavy rain warnings for Fiordland, the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers and the Westland ranges.
