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A helicopter fighting a fire in the Port Hills on 20 November 2023. Photo: Sharleen Duncan
As wildfires cause millions of dollars worth of damage each year and disrupt lives, researchers are looking at how to more accurately predict the potential burn path of fires.
University of Canterbury associate professor in atmospheric dynamics Marwan Katurji, was an expert witness for the inquiry into the 2017 Port Hills Fire between Christchurch and Lyttelton.
Since then, Katurji says wildfire costs have reached $82m, including blazes in the Nelson region, Lake Ōhau and also a more recent Port Hills fire in November last year.
And this month, residents near Twizel have been encouraged to create a neighbourhood plan to help reduce the risk of wildfires, with a Fire and Emergency incident controller warning that the Mackenzie Basin area is facing the most challenging wildfire conditions since 2008.