Fire risk lowers enough to safely re-open regional park

Baring Head/Ōrua-pouanui and Parangarahu Lakes in the East Harbour Regional Park are re-opening in full on Saturday 20 April, after extreme fire risk caused the areas to close earlier this year. 

The two areas of the regional park were closed to the public on 16 February – a measure under Greater Wellington’s new fire risk management system – when the dry conditions meant fire could ignite and spread quickly, threatening people, property, and the environment.   

Baring Head and Parangarahu Lakes partially re-opened on Tuesday 9 April, after rain and lowering temperatures made it safe for people to visit before 1pm, with restricted access to some tracks.  

NIWA reported the summer as one of the driest on record, with just 33mm of rain falling from December to February at Baring Head – less than half the rainfall central Wellington received in the same period.   

Greater Wellington is continuing to actively monitor fire risk across all regional parks. To learn more, visit our wildfires page.