As conditions reached the mid-30s in Christchurch and across Canterbury into the evening, Fire and Emergency (Fenz) urged people across Canterbury to be extra vigilant about potential fire dangers. Rangiora in North Canterbury holds the record maximum of 42.4C recorded in 1973, with Christchurch recording 41.6C that same year. More recently, Timaru reached 41.3C on Waitangi Day in 2011.
NIWA
Previous heat records for Canterbury. Ashburton and Temuka reached 40.2C and 40.1C respectively on Tuesday and had the potential to beat their records by the end of the day, Canterbury Weather Updates director Russell Voice said. “I suspect there will be quite a few localised records broken – it’s definitely been one of our hottest days collectively across the region.”
Suspicious fire at abandoned house in central Christchurch
26 Jan, 2021 09:53 PM
3 minutes to read
There has been another fire in Christchurch, this time at an abandoned house.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze in Fendalton about 2.15am today and arrived to a two-storey home well involved.
Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson Andrew Norris said firefighters got to work protecting neighbouring properties.
Read More
Advertisement
It was extinguished by about 7am and crews were on site dampening down hot spots.
He said the house appeared to be abandoned and unoccupied.
Norris said an investigator was on site this morning.
A longtime observer said the house was frequently visited by trespassers.