Thousands turn out for Lunar New Year Parade Having already dealt with several major fires across the country this calendar year, Fire and Emergency NZ have issued a ban on fireworks and sky lanterns ahead of Lunar New Year - in a bid to reduce the risk of “dangerous wildfires”. Wellington, Porirua, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa and Christchurch are included in the ban. On Monday, around 70 firefighters and seven aircraft tackled a blaze that was raging just 40km west of Christchurch.