Allen REYNOLDS
Auckland
26 April 2019

Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Dear Sir or Madam

Official information request: Wanaka Fire Costs and Recovery

Please supply the following information under the Official Information Act (OIA):

a fire on 03 January 2018, on Wanaka's Mt Alpha, reportedly had “cost Fire and Emergency New Zealand at least $500,000 in firefighting costs so far, principal rural fire officer Graeme Still” said

link - http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10068810...

the fire reportedly “originated on the Mt Aspiring Rd property of Rob and Jean Johnstone, of Outram…” and “was started by pizza oven ashes…”

Q1 – has the cause of the Wanaka fire been determined?
please state the cause

Q2 – what action(s) have been taken against person(s) responsible for the fire?
including, but not limited to – written warning, infringement notice, court action…

Q3 – has the full amount of the firefighting costs been determined?
if yes, what is the total?
if no, what is the total so far? And what costs remain to be determined?

Q4 – how have (or how will) the firefighting costs be recovered?
the article above mentioned “new rural fire liability laws introduced by the Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Act 2017…”

Q5 – please state the following details –
the area of land that the fire burnt
the number of helicopters used and the total hours flown

If you need any more information from me please let me know as soon as possible.

I understand that a decision on a request for information under the OIA should be made within 20 working days of receiving that request.

If you do not normally deal with official information requests, or you need advice on dealing with this request, guidance is available from the Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

Yours faithfully

Allen Reynolds

Dear Fire and Emergency New Zealand

thank you for your reply

203 ha burnt - 9 helicopters flew a total of 93 hours, plus ground action - total cost $456,600
the occupant did not douse the embers before they were "placed... within a formed heap
of cut vegetation, small tree clippings, cones and twigs"
(when I was a Boy Scout 'formed heaps' were how we lit fires!)
cause 'accidental' - gets a 'cautionary letter'

yet a foreign drone flier, who grounded the helicopters for 2 hours (or 15 minutes in some reports), could have been liable for a $4000 fine, and did forfeit his $1700 drone, after pleading guilty in court

justice?

in confusion...
Allen Reynolds