Voluntary wildfire evacuation exercise for Hanmer Springs

A landmark multi-agency Civil Defence wildfire evacuation field exercise will take place in Hanmer Springs on Sunday 6 April 2025 to test community preparedness.

The exercise —the biggest of its kind in recent history — will bring together emergency services, the Hanmer Springs Community Emergency Response Team, Waka Kotahi NZTA, Hurunui District Council, residents, businesses, schools, accommodation providers, and tourists to test Hanmer Springs’s wildfire preparedness plan.

Hurunui Civil Defence Emergency Management will be the lead agency for the exercise on Sunday 6 April, which will run throughout the day, with the public phase of the exercise taking place between 2pm and 5pm.

Hurunui Council’s Emergency Management officer Allan Grigg says Hanmer Springs has an “extremely high” wildfire risk. In 2016, a large wildfire cut off access to the town temporarily.

“A draft Civil Defence evacuation plan has been prepared but has never been operationally tested,” Grigg says. “This exercise will test the plan in action, raise awareness of wildfire hazard, and build confidence and knowledge in the community.”

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles had heightened public concern about fire preparedness, Grigg says.

“Many residents in Hanmer Springs are eager to understand what to do in the event of a major wildfire evacuation.”

Evacuation will be voluntary, and residents and visitors requiring assistance on the day are urged to get in touch with the Council.

Residents will hear the instruction to evacuate via public address systems and the town siren. The evacuation point is the paddock south of Amuri Helicopters at 561 Hanmer Springs Road, SH7A.

“We will have volunteers patrolling to ensure properties are safe during the exercise and to be available to help people evacuate. People will also be directing traffic to the evacuation site under a Traffic Management Plan,” Grigg says.

The field exercise will utilise platforms used in real events, such as North Canterbury radio station Compass FM and the Hanmer Springs community Facebook page. All messaging will start and end with the words ‘Civil Defence Exercise’.

Important information:

• This is a Civil Defence exercise, not a real emergency. All public announcements and communication will clearly state ‘Civil Defence Exercise’.
• When the evacuation signal is given via town sirens and public address systems, participants should follow instructions to evacuate voluntarily.
• The voluntary evacuation will last approximately two hours.

Evacuation point:

• The evacuation point is the paddock south of Amuri Helicopters at 561 Hanmer Springs Road, SH7A. Please refer to map.