Conservation land damaged in Canterbury fire

By RNZ

Some conservation land was damaged in a scrub fire that ignited on Saturday, the area’s fire chief says.

The fire, in Tekapo, burned through 150ha of vegetation and required aircraft, as well as multiple fire crews, to put it out.

It was extinguished on Saturday evening.

The fire damaged some conservation land, which was “disappointing”, Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) mid-south Canterbury district manager Rob Hands said.

Fire crews would revisit the site early on Sunday morning to help assess the damage.

The blaze was among more than a dozen that firefighters battled in the area on Saturday, fanned by strong winds.

Others took hold in Amberley, where two outhouses and a caravan were destroyed, and in Waipara and Broomfield.

A handful of houses had to be evacuated on Saturday, but everyone was allowed back into their homes that evening, Hands said.

Firefighters had remained at those three sites overnight and “we’ll resource up again in the morning as required”, Hands said.

Other vegetation fires were reported in areas like Ashburton and Rakaia, but they were “quite minor”, he said.

“Some are previously lit fires, some were fires lit [on Saturday] which was disappointing.”

Strong wind watches had been in place for much of the lower South Island on Saturday.

Fenz had urged locals not to burn any fires outdoors due to the high winds, and to thoroughly put out any fires already burning.

– RNZ