High winds fanned a blaze on an Omakau farm yesterday, with the fire front reaching 1km at times.
''It wasn't good, '' Omakau Deputy Chief Fire Officer Lloyd Harris said.
Crews from the Omakau and Alexandra volunteer brigades, along with Blackstone and Dunstan rural fire teams - 27 firefighters and five appliances in total - attended the blaze, which began about 5pm in a paddock at Matakanui Station.
''It was just sheer bad luck; a freak accident really.
''Some guys were direct-drilling in a stubble paddock and there was a spark after they hit a rock and, in these dry conditions, it was off,'' Mr Harris said.
An area about .6ha square was burnt and firefighters spent nearly three hours at the site.
''One of the big problems was cow manure - we thought we had the fire out and then dry cow manure would set alight and roll.
''It's quite flammable when it's dry and a real bugger to get out,'' he said.
''The day wasn't even very hot. It was overcast with the odd spit of rain, so the fire starting was just bad luck and nobody's to blame.''
