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Fire crews will continue battling a huge vegetation fire on the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu on Wednesday, as forecast winds are set to make efforts more challenging.
The blaze broke out near Walter Peak Station on the lake's shore on Tuesday afternoon, sending smoke billowing over the resort.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) initially said it was tackling the blaze with two helicopters equipped with monsoon buckets, attempting to protect the historic homestead and gardens.
In an update about 7.35pm on Tuesday, Fenz said a “significant area” of the fire had been extinguished, but it was not yet contained or controlled. Operations were suspended for the night.
Assistant District Commander Nic McQuillan said strong nor-westerly winds were fuelling the fire, which had escalated in the McKinlays Creek area.
The geography of McKinlays Creek was a ravine, causing it to act like a chimney, funnelling wind and fire upwards, making it difficult for firefighters to access the area.
Ground operations will get under way at 7.30am on Wednesday, he said.
"Conditions are relatively calm at the moment but we expect things to get more challenging when the wind gets up this morning.”
Boat operators must stay well away from Walter Peak shores so they don't endanger our helicopter pilots filling monsoon buckets from the lake, he said.
- Allied Media and RNZ
