In the past two days, several rural fires have broken out in the Port Hills near Christchurch, the largest city in NZ's South Island. Several houses have been destroyed. Nearly 400 people have been evacuated and a state of emergency has been declared in the area.



The fires have also caused several power cuts after they tripped a main power line. The NZ Defence Force has been sent to help. They have a base near Chch so they didn't have to wait long.



The biggest problem is that it's impossible to fight fire from air during the night because it's far too dangerous.



A helicopter pilot fighting the fires crashed and died yesterday. He was an SAS veteran who leaves a wife and two young children .



Some rural residents have been digging firebreaks to help stop the fire. Contractors have voluntarily started widening it.



This morning, a café owner sent ciabatta loaves, eggs, bacon and other ingredients to the Governors Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade so that the crews could make lunches.

The fire is getting dangerously close to an adventure park that cost $20 million and only opened in December.



Basic information:

- Up to 15 helicopters, 10 rural tankers and one New Zealand Defence Force tanker are being used to battle the two fires on Christchurch's Port Hills.

- About 650 hectares of scrub and vegetation has been burned.

- About 120 firefighters and three two-person New Zealand Army teams are working to contain the blazes.

- Almost 2000 people are currently being evacuated.


I like Christchurch and have been there countless times. It's really sad to see it suffering disasters for the past 7 years.