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NZ · New Zealand

Districts that have burned most often in New Zealand

Districts of New Zealand with at least one fire larger than 300 hectares with a perimeter since 2016: 43. With two or more: 33. Top of the list is Hurunui District, which has burned 19 times in 10 years, with 7,909 hectares burned inside its boundaries.

By number of fires

  1. 1Hurunui DistrictCanterbury Region19×10 years · 7,909 ha
  2. 2Southland DistrictSouthland Region17×8 years · 7,210 ha
  3. 3Central Otago DistrictOtago Region17×11 years · 6,550 ha
  4. 4Waitaki DistrictCanterbury Region16×7 years · 5,950 ha
  5. 5Whangarei DistrictNorthland Region14×8 years · 4,330 ha
  6. 6Far North DistrictNorthland Region12×7 years · 7,811 ha
  7. 7Waimate DistrictCanterbury Region11×6 years · 4,481 ha
  8. 8Mackenzie DistrictCanterbury Region10×6 years · 8,620 ha
  9. 9Queenstown-Lakes DistrictOtago Region10×5 years · 4,434 ha
  10. 10Marlborough DistrictMarlborough Region10×6 years · 4,164 ha
  11. 11Dunedin CityOtago Region10×5 years · 3,002 ha
  12. 12Ruapehu DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region9×6 years · 11,822 ha
  13. 13Ashburton DistrictCanterbury Region9×5 years · 4,197 ha
  14. 14Selwyn DistrictCanterbury Region8×6 years · 5,059 ha
  15. 15Kaipara DistrictNorthland Region8×6 years · 1,959 ha
  16. 16Whanganui DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region7×5 years · 2,626 ha
  17. 17Clutha DistrictOtago Region7×5 years · 2,057 ha
  18. 18Gisborne DistrictGisborne Region6×5 years · 2,576 ha
  19. 19Central Hawke's Bay DistrictHawke's Bay Region5×3 years · 1,864 ha
  20. 20Thames-Coromandel DistrictWaikato Region5×3 years · 1,611 ha

By hectares burned

  1. 1Ruapehu DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region11,822 ha9× · 1.8 %
  2. 2Mackenzie DistrictCanterbury Region8,620 ha10× · 1.2 %
  3. 3Hurunui DistrictCanterbury Region7,909 ha19× · 0.9 %
  4. 4Far North DistrictNorthland Region7,811 ha12× · 1.2 %
  5. 5Southland DistrictSouthland Region7,210 ha17× · 0.2 %
  6. 6Central Otago DistrictOtago Region6,550 ha17× · 0.7 %
  7. 7Waitaki DistrictCanterbury Region5,950 ha16× · 0.8 %
  8. 8Selwyn DistrictCanterbury Region5,059 ha8× · 0.8 %
  9. 9Waimate DistrictCanterbury Region4,481 ha11× · 1.3 %
  10. 10Queenstown-Lakes DistrictOtago Region4,434 ha10× · 0.5 %
  11. 11Whangarei DistrictNorthland Region4,330 ha14× · 1.6 %
  12. 12Ashburton DistrictCanterbury Region4,197 ha9× · 0.7 %
  13. 13Marlborough DistrictMarlborough Region4,164 ha10× · 0.4 %
  14. 14Christchurch CityCanterbury Region3,930 ha4× · 2.6 %
  15. 15Dunedin CityOtago Region3,002 ha10× · 0.9 %
  16. 16Whanganui DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region2,626 ha7× · 1.1 %
  17. 17Gisborne DistrictGisborne Region2,576 ha6× · 0.3 %
  18. 18Tasman DistrictTasman Region2,105 ha1× · 0.2 %
  19. 19Clutha DistrictOtago Region2,057 ha7× · 0.3 %
  20. 20Kaipara DistrictNorthland Region1,959 ha8× · 0.6 %

By share of the municipality (10 km² or more)

  1. 1Christchurch CityCanterbury Region2.6 %3,930 ha · 1,490 km²
  2. 2Ruapehu DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region1.8 %11,822 ha · 6,744 km²
  3. 3Whangarei DistrictNorthland Region1.6 %4,330 ha · 2,720 km²
  4. 4Waimate DistrictCanterbury Region1.3 %4,481 ha · 3,582 km²
  5. 5Far North DistrictNorthland Region1.2 %7,811 ha · 6,733 km²
  6. 6Mackenzie DistrictCanterbury Region1.2 %8,620 ha · 7,446 km²
  7. 7Whanganui DistrictManawatu-Wanganui Region1.1 %2,626 ha · 2,380 km²
  8. 8Invercargill City1.0 %388 ha · 389 km²
  9. 9Dunedin CityOtago Region0.9 %3,002 ha · 3,288 km²
  10. 10Hurunui DistrictCanterbury Region0.9 %7,909 ha · 8,671 km²
  11. 11Waitaki DistrictCanterbury Region0.8 %5,950 ha · 7,232 km²
  12. 12Kaikoura DistrictCanterbury Region0.8 %1,644 ha · 2,049 km²
  13. 13Selwyn DistrictCanterbury Region0.8 %5,059 ha · 6,559 km²
  14. 14Thames-Coromandel DistrictWaikato Region0.7 %1,611 ha · 2,214 km²
  15. 15Nelson CityNelson Region0.7 %298 ha · 423 km²
  16. 16Ashburton DistrictCanterbury Region0.7 %4,197 ha · 6,195 km²
  17. 17Central Otago DistrictOtago Region0.7 %6,550 ha · 9,963 km²
  18. 18Kaipara DistrictNorthland Region0.6 %1,959 ha · 3,114 km²
  19. 19Central Hawke's Bay DistrictHawke's Bay Region0.6 %1,864 ha · 3,331 km²
  20. 20Waimakariri DistrictCanterbury Region0.5 %1,083 ha · 2,221 km²

How it is calculated

We count fires larger than 300 hectares with a perimeter since 2016 that reached each municipality, even partly. Hectares are those burned inside the municipality and are added fire by fire, so land that burned twice counts twice; that is why the share, given only for municipalities of 10 km² or more, can exceed 100 % (it is then shown as a multiple). It describes what happened: it does not measure risk or say anything about causes.