Waikato Regional Council has received more complaints about burnings than usual for this time of year and is reminding people to be aware of the impacts of fires on their properties.
For the month to May 25, it received 36 outdoor burning complaints, up 50 per cent from the same period in 2024, when it received 24 outdoor burning complaints.
Council incident response team leader Wayne Reed said communication was key.
“We encourage people to talk to their neighbours before they burn.
“We have had a lengthy dry summer and now that the weather has changed, I can understand people will be wanting to have a bit of a clean-up.”
Of the 21 towns and cities throughout the Waikato where complaints were recorded in the month in question, Taupō with two was not an evidently major source of neighbourly friction.
Whangamata with five topped the list while a handful of other towns were on three. Most however had only one or two.
Regulations allow for certain materials to be burnt, however, people need to ensure a fire shall not: cause adverse effects to the health of people, plants or animals, result in objectionable odours or particulates beyond the property boundary, significantly impair visibility beyond the boundary or cause corrosion or deterioration to structures beyond the boundary.
The council say any materials to be burnt must have been sourced from the property.
They can include: untreated wood and vegetative matter, paper and cardboard, food waste and animal carcasses on production land.
More information from WRC is available on the Outdoor burning and air quality webpage.
The council also monitors air quality at a number of sites throughout the region. The latest data can be found on the Environmental maps and data webpage.
