Lee Valley, Tasman District scrub fire contained, residents get restricted access to homes

Tasman District crews have successfuly contained the Lee Valley scrub fire and have established a 1.2km containment line.

Incident Controller Steve Trigg said the hard work of the crews in tough conditions had paid off.

”We have a satisfactory containment line in and we’ve been able to give residents of evacuated homes restricted access to their properties,” he said.

”This is a big step, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us to extinguish this fire.

”Crews will monitor the fire ground overnight, with more firefighters and helicopters back in operation tomorrow as extinguishing work continues.”

Trigg said the investigation is ongoing, however, suspicious causes have been eliminated.

“With more sunshine and warm weather ahead for the next week, it’s again an important reminder to be vigilant around activities that can generate sparks during this very dry fire season, and that a simple spark can have devastating impacts on people, property and the environment, as well as pets and livestock.”

Firefighters, seven helicopters and two heavy machinery operators were called out to extinguish the blaze.

Eleven houses were initially evacuated on Wednesday afternoon as the fire spread in pine forestry on steep terrain.

There was no reported damage to property, aside from the forest itself.