Many residents were left angry following a community workshop on Mt Iron wildfire risk organised by local agencies on Tuesday night (February 2).

Representatives from Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), Otago Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM), and the Department of Conservation (DOC) took part in the meeting, with enough residents to pack the Lake Wānaka Centre’s Armstrong Room to capacity.

As FENZ Central Otago principal rural fire officer Mark Mawhinney explained, the 374 properties and 255 buildings within the 366ha Mt Iron ‘red zone’ have a high risk of wildfire. 

Surrounded by dense manuka and kanuka, which one resident described as being like “charcoal wrapped in newspaper”, much of the red zone also has limited access for firefighters or egress for residents escaping a fire; Mt Iron’s steep slope would accelerate fire spread and make fighting it difficult; and Mt Iron’s location on the urban/rural divide increases ignition risk.

Residents weren’t happy with the various agencies’ proposed mitigation strategies to wildfire risk, many of which were general in nature or district-wide in scope, demanding instead a dedicated plan - or series of plans - for Mt Iron’s unique challenges.

Albert Town seen from the slopes of Mt Iron.

One resident said people living in the area were already acutely aware of the wildfire danger but “our hands are tied by council”, referencing the covenants that limit clearing of kanuka scrub on their properties. 

It proved to be a sticking point, and QLDC risk and resilience manager Bill Nichol, who said he “recognised the conflict”, did not win any hearts by suggesting that residents apply for a resource consent to allow kanuka removal on their property - at a cost. 

Another resident said the balance was “landscape values versus human lives”, and a third asked what the situation would look like in another five years when, he said, the amount of kanuka would have doubled. 

“Most of the things I’ve heard here aren’t going to do anything to mitigate fire risk,” another resident said, adding: “I’ll submit [the problem we have is] a planning problem with putting too many houses in a fire risk zone.”

The different agencies laid out various strategies for wildfire risk mitigation: among them were suggestions for the community to work together for community resilience; FENZ provided information and resources and said volunteers were willing to visit properties to make recommendations; and council talked about work it was doing, including a district-wide adaptation plan. 

But many residents had come to the meeting with expectations of more solid progress: options like a loud, effective emergency alert system, a community siren, fire breaks and more vegetation removal were all discussed and residents wanted firm timelines for implementation.

The agencies at the meeting have been working together in recent months to provide information on wildfire risk and QLDC councillor Niamh Shaw, towards the end, told residents the public meeting was the first in a series for Mt Iron residents. 

PHOTOS: Wanaka App