Those comments were in an assessment of the township's fire risk prepared for Naseby Vision and tabled at the Maniototo Community Board meeting in Ranfurly this week.
The author of the report, Alan Jackson, of Dunedin, was rural fire manager for the National Rural Fire Authority in Dunedin for more than 17 years and also has 25 years' experience in a variety of management roles for the New Zealand Forestry Service.
Naseby Vision acts as an advocate on behalf of the town's permanent residents and holiday home owners.
It was approached by the Naseby Fire Brigade after the Victorian fires and held a public meeting in the town earlier this year to discuss the concerns about the fire risk.
Mr Jackson listed 12 recommendations in his report aimed at lessening the risk.
"The seasonal extreme fire danger that occurs in the Naseby area was recognised many years ago by the NZ Forest Service and the fact that the township and forest are inescapably linked only tends to heighten this risk and threat of fire," he said.
There was the potential for fire storms to strike Naseby and it was time further planning and remedial action was carried out.
The majority of the exotic forest was to the west and north of the town, so the threat of fire occurring in northwesterly winds was very real.
There was also a high risk of a fire within the township spreading to the outlying area.
A fire behaviour expert from Ernslaw One Ltd, which owns the Naseby Forest, recently did some calculations using similar fire and weather indices to that experienced in the Victorian fires, using a scenario of a fire starting outside the Naseby Forest, on the western boundary in strong westerly winds.
"It was calculated that the fire would involve the Naseby township in around one hour," Mr Jackson said.
A fire risk management committee has been set up, which includes representatives from the fire brigade, national fire authority, Department of Conservation, Central Otago District Council, southern and rural fire authorities.
Community board chairman Richard Smith said it was good to see Naseby Vision being proactive.
"It's all about creating awareness of the fire risk and making the place as safe as possible. It can never be 100% safe, of course, but that's the nature of living next to a forest."
The board agreed to pay $300 towards the $650 cost of the report.
Naseby Vision also organised a clean-up day last Saturday, to encourage home owners to remove dry vegetation and dead tree branches from their properties.
