DoC fire budget already spent

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 263, 15 November 1988, Page 1

DoC fire budget already spent

The Department o f Conservation's Tongariro and Taupo area fire fighting budget for the coming season has been spent already, five times over. The Guy Fawkes Day fire on the Desert Road cost the department somewhere between $50,000 and $55,000 while the budget for the whole season in the area is just $11,000. Kerry Hillard, Chief Fire Control Officer for the Department of Conservation, said the extra costs of fighting such fires would have to come from the operating

budget of districts around the country and that this may mean further job losses in the department due to lack of funds for conservation projects. The Department has applied for supplementary funds for the DoC fire budget following concern from the department. Mr Hillard calls for more care from the public when lighting fires or barbecues. He says the Desert Road fire shows how easily a careless act can seriously threaten a national park. The Desert Road fire is believed to have been started by fireworks, after reports that someone was firing skyrockets at passing motorists in the early

nours of the morning, Saturday November 5. The fire burned 550 hectares of manuka, kanuka, monoa and tussock on land owned by the Tuwharetoa Trust. Turangi Department officer Peter Mark said while land owners of property adjacent to conservation land did not usually contribute to the fighting of fires such as the Desert Road fire, the department would accept any contribution. Mr Hillard said the department intends to recover as much of the costs of fighting fires as it can, though he said it is difficult finding those responsible for starting such fires.