New Zealand: Raging Twin wildfires threaten homes
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Jan 18, 2011, 11:29:53 AM1/18/11
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Times and Climate Change
New Zealand: Raging Twin wildfires threaten homes
by Seamus Boyer and Owen Winter | 18th January 2011
Residents Flee: The aftermath of a large scrub fire near Ngawi. Photo / Gordon Wyeth
People were evacuated from two areas around Wairarapa over the weekend, as forest and scrub fires threatened houses at Bideford and Ngawi.
The Bideford blaze, off Coopers Rd northeast of Bideford, was first reported at 7.45pm on Sunday, with large plumes of smoke seen in the air over the area.
It was believed to have been started in a forest, sparked by fallen power lines.
Three helicopters battled to control the fire, working continuously from after 8pm until 2.30am on Monday, with several fire trucks also involved.
Sheep and beef farmer Terry Galway said he woke up on his couch just before 8pm on Sunday to find his lounge filled with smoke.
He and wife Amanda called the fire service, then drove to alert neighbours.
"It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. The flames were huge," Mr Galway said.
He said three properties were evacuated, with residents not allowed home until after 3am yesterday.
High winds which had whipped up the flames died down about midnight, allowing the helicopters to gain some headway, he said. "If [the firefighters] hadn't stopped it, we were in the firing line."
He praised the fire service for their quick actions.
"They were unbelievable.
I can't say enough about them.
"If it had hit one particular hill it could have burned all the way to Tinui."
Another neighbour, Ross Harrington, who took in some of the evacuated people, said the helicopters took water from his property to fight the fire.
Assistant area fire manager Henry Stechman said yesterday that crews had been at the scene throughout the night, and the bush fire force was still damping down hotspots early yesterday afternoon.
The evacuations at Bideford followed another evacuation on the south coast the day before.
The large scrub fire, which started near homes in the settlement of Mangatoetoe near Cape Palliser, took eight hours to contain after spreading up the hillside and resulted in 30 residents being evacuated.
Resident Dianne Phelps said the fire was "quite frightening".
"When you have a 55-knot nor'wester and a fire spreading, it's not pleasant."
The fire was described as coming in two stages, starting at about 9am, and was thought to have been under control by Saturday afternoon before high winds caused a second wave to flare up. More than 50 firefighters were involved in the incident, with urban firefighters working on containing the lower ground and evacuating residents.
Trucks were sent from South Wairarapa and Upper Hutt as well as two helicopters equipped with monsoon buckets, which helped contain the fire.
Mrs Phelps was evacuated to the nearby Ngawi fishing village, along with people from 12 other houses.
She said she was very grateful to the firefighters for their hard work, making special mention of the Ngawi fire party who had been the first to respond to the fire.
"Their hard work prevented a great number of houses being affected in the initial stages."
The cause of the fire is unknown but a fire investigation team was at the scene most of yesterday.
New Zealand: Raging Twin wildfires threaten homes
by Seamus Boyer and Owen Winter | 18th January 2011
Residents Flee: The aftermath of a large scrub fire near Ngawi. Photo / Gordon Wyeth
People were evacuated from two areas around Wairarapa over the weekend, as forest and scrub fires threatened houses at Bideford and Ngawi.
The Bideford blaze, off Coopers Rd northeast of Bideford, was first reported at 7.45pm on Sunday, with large plumes of smoke seen in the air over the area.
It was believed to have been started in a forest, sparked by fallen power lines.
Three helicopters battled to control the fire, working continuously from after 8pm until 2.30am on Monday, with several fire trucks also involved.
Sheep and beef farmer Terry Galway said he woke up on his couch just before 8pm on Sunday to find his lounge filled with smoke.
He and wife Amanda called the fire service, then drove to alert neighbours.
"It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. The flames were huge," Mr Galway said.
He said three properties were evacuated, with residents not allowed home until after 3am yesterday.
High winds which had whipped up the flames died down about midnight, allowing the helicopters to gain some headway, he said. "If [the firefighters] hadn't stopped it, we were in the firing line."
He praised the fire service for their quick actions.
"They were unbelievable.
I can't say enough about them.
"If it had hit one particular hill it could have burned all the way to Tinui."
Another neighbour, Ross Harrington, who took in some of the evacuated people, said the helicopters took water from his property to fight the fire.
Assistant area fire manager Henry Stechman said yesterday that crews had been at the scene throughout the night, and the bush fire force was still damping down hotspots early yesterday afternoon.
The evacuations at Bideford followed another evacuation on the south coast the day before.
The large scrub fire, which started near homes in the settlement of Mangatoetoe near Cape Palliser, took eight hours to contain after spreading up the hillside and resulted in 30 residents being evacuated.
Resident Dianne Phelps said the fire was "quite frightening".
"When you have a 55-knot nor'wester and a fire spreading, it's not pleasant."
The fire was described as coming in two stages, starting at about 9am, and was thought to have been under control by Saturday afternoon before high winds caused a second wave to flare up. More than 50 firefighters were involved in the incident, with urban firefighters working on containing the lower ground and evacuating residents.
Trucks were sent from South Wairarapa and Upper Hutt as well as two helicopters equipped with monsoon buckets, which helped contain the fire.
Mrs Phelps was evacuated to the nearby Ngawi fishing village, along with people from 12 other houses.
She said she was very grateful to the firefighters for their hard work, making special mention of the Ngawi fire party who had been the first to respond to the fire.
"Their hard work prevented a great number of houses being affected in the initial stages."
The cause of the fire is unknown but a fire investigation team was at the scene most of yesterday.
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