Otago Daily Times

Lack of Mt Iron closure signs decried

WA¯ NAKA’S fire chief has criticised the council for a lack of signs informing the public of the closure of Mt Iron, saying ‘‘if they’re going to do it, then they probably should do it properly’’.

The comments came as Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) placed heightened fire restrictio­ns on several parts of Otago today, including Waitaki, as the region experience­s a stretch of perilously dry weather.

Mt Iron, which has been identified by the council as being an extreme wildfire threat, has had its access reduced to the mornings, from 6am to noon, since Thursday.

Speaking to the Otago Daily Times, Wa¯naka fire chief Tony Wellman said current signage at Mount Iron Recreation­al Reserve, which only referred to ‘‘extreme fire danger’’ and encouraged people to scan a QR code for ‘‘potential reserve closures’’, did not go far enough.

‘‘They need to put lots of signage saying that it’s closed between these hours for sure,’’ he said.

‘‘You’d think that would be the first thing they would do.’’

He would be following up through Fenz to see whether signage could be improved, Mr Wellman said.

Early on Thursday afternoon, the Otago Daily Times observed more than 20 vehicles parked near the main entrance on the Wa¯nakaLuggat­e highway, as dozens of people continued to make their way through the reserve, many on their way to the summit.

One man, a resident of Luggate who asked not to be named, said he was not aware of the closure, but questioned how much of an added risk walkers would pose.

‘‘I see someone cutting their grass and causing a spark as more of a hazard, you know?’’

Another group, a family on holiday from Dunedin, were surprised to learn of the closure, but said it would not deter them from making a trip to the summit.

QLDC spokesman Sam White said there would not be a council presence on the reserve during the periods when it was closed, and that entering would be at ‘‘people’s own risk’’.

‘‘We ask them to take personal responsibi­lity by abiding by signage and other communicat­ions about current and future reserve closures,’’ he said.

The ‘‘extreme fire danger’’ signs were up all the time to warn people of the potential fire danger, but separate red signs were put up at eight locations around the reserve during periods when the reserve was closed, Mr White said.

Despite this, no such signs were visible at three of the reserve’s entry points either on Thursday or yesterday.

Mr White said the council’s parks team were also producing signage that made specific reference to the hours of closure, and these would be in place ‘‘shortly’’.

This was not the first time the Queenstown Lakes District Council had been questioned over its efforts to inform the public of Mt Iron’s fire risk.

Last month, Hidden Hills Residents Associatio­n chairwoman Megan Davies said a report for the QLDC that showed not enough was being done to reduce the risk of a ‘‘disastrous’’ wildfire on Mt Iron needed to be made public.

‘‘If a wildfire were to start anywhere on Mt Iron, the speed of the spread would be phenomenal,’’ she said.

‘‘What can walkers on Mt Iron do if the fire goes from the bottom to the top? In the worstcase scenario we’ve been told that could be seven minutes.’’

The report, which was completed in November 2022, investigat­ed the fire danger of 30 reserves in the Queenstown Lakes district.

Mt Iron and Ben Lomond in Queenstown were the only reserves in the ‘‘extreme’’ risk category.

The council is expected to decide whether to continue the closures or relax the access restrictio­ns tomorrow.