The Defence Force is battling a blaze in bushland at the
Waiouru Military Camp in the central North Island, which
started during a live fire exercise yesterday.
It is the second fire to have been sparked during military
exercise yesterday, the other on an Army base near
Christchurch.
Both are under investigation.
A Defence Force spokesman said the Waiouru blaze had burnt
through about 350ha but was now contained in a 5ha gully of
dense vegetation in the Three Kings area.
Five civilian helicopters and a Royal New Zealand Air Force
helicopter are fighting the blaze, which started during an
exercise by the Singaporean Armed Forces.
Extra resources have been deployed to Waiouru, including
extra personnel and a water tanker, to assist the
Singaporeans in dealing with hotspots in areas burnt by the
fire.
The spokesman said there had been no injuries as a result of
the fire.
The other fire at an Army base yesterday started at Burnham
Military Training Area at West Melton, near Christchurch,
which threatened nearby homes and covered an area about 1km
by 500m.
It is believed to have been sparked by a live ammunition
training exercise and required 60 firefighters, up to six
helicopters and 18 ground-based appliances to control.
One soldier suffered minor injuries trying to put out the
Canterbury fire.
- Kieran Campbell of APNZ
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