Fire in the Hills

Dive into the gripping narrative of Fire in the Hills, a vital exploration of New Zealand’s wildfire history over the last seven centuries. Authored by Helen Beaglehole, this meticulously researched paperback spans 324 pages and delves into the impact of uncontrollable burns by Maori and European settlers, which devastated vast landscapes. Burning more than one-third of the land cover, these fires transformed the ecology and economy of New Zealand. The book also examines the catastrophic consequences of unchecked fire practices, including loss of livestock, homes, and livelihoods, all documented through rich historical records and insightful interviews with rural firefighters. Beaglehole shines a light on the 1921 legislation that remains the backbone of New Zealand's current wildfire policies, revealing the shift towards fire management and prevention. Uncover how innovative firefighting technologies and weather understanding played a pivotal role in combating wildfires. With over 200 photographs enhancing this narrative, Fire in the Hills offers a profound perspective on both the challenges and solutions in fire management. Ideal for history buffs, environmental enthusiasts, and those interested in rural firefighting, this book is an essential addition to your collection.

Author: Helen Beaglehole Publisher: Canterbury University Press
Bind: paperback

Pages: 324
Publication Date: 01-07-2012

Over six to seven hundred years, Maori burned about one third of New Zealand’s ground cover. In the following 70 years, and at a devastating rate, European settlers burned about another third as they cleared and ‘improved’ the land. All too frequently, burn-offs became uncontrollable conflagrations that swept through thousands of hectares, destroying cattle, fences, homes and livelihoods, and burning mills and much-needed timber. Townsfolk, blanketed in dense, acrid smoke needed lights at midday; ships, unable to pick up landmarks, sat marooned in harbour - yet the burning, as in other frontier societies, remained unabated and largely unquestioned. It is against that background that Helen Beaglehole sets the fascinating and previously unexplored history of how settlers’ random and careless burning led, in 1921, to legislation that still underpins New Zealand’s official policy on wildfire. She explores the huge public education campaign that sought to convince all sectors of the public that mindless burning had to be restrained, and traces how increasingly sophisticated fire-fighting technologies, coupled with developing knowledge of weather and fire behaviour, were used to prevent, contain and extinguish fire. Finally she looks at the early Forest Service employees who in effect became the nation’s first rural firefighters, their skills honed in the vast controlled burns of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, and describes the regime established after the Service’s demise and the issues faced today. As with Helen Beaglehole’s two books on New Zealand’s lighthouses and lighthouse keeping, Fire in the Hills is grounded in detailed and extensive research. Information from historical records is incorporated with material from interviews with past and present rural firefighters and administrators, bringing vividly to light the times, the people and the problems they faced. Some 200 photographs further broaden our historical understanding.