Acting Principal Rural Fire Officer Mark Mawhinney said the fire in Swann Rd near Lowburn on Saturday was helped by the weather.
The farmer mowing the grass thought he had extinguished the fire but when he looked in the rear-view mirror of his tractor he noticed ‘‘it had started up and bolted’’.
Strong northwesterly winds were blowing that afternoon and the fire had the potential to damage or destroy houses, Mr Mawhinney said.
It took fire crews from Cromwell, Dunstan, Alexandra and Tarras and two helicopters several hours to contain the blaze and the next day there were still half a dozen hot spots in the area.
Mr Mawhinney said the vast majority of fires in New Zealand were caused by humans, power lines and escaped fires and he urged people to consider the weather and wind conditions before carrying out activities such as mowing.
Two weeks ago, the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) and Otago Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) met to discuss how better to support high-risk communities in understanding and mitigating fire risk.
Mr Mawhinney said Mt Iron in Wanaka was in a very high-risk fire zone.
‘‘You have a lot of abundant highly flammable vegetation of manuka and kanuka trees there, a steep slope, a north-facing aspect. There is only one way up and one way down and you have a high population of residents.’’
Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Tony Wellman said if a fire broke out on Mt Iron a risk assessment would have to be carried out before the fire brigade could attend.
If someone saw smoke ‘‘they should ring 111 and get prepared to evacuate’’, he said.
Queenstown Lakes District Council Wanaka ward councillor Niamh Shaw is a resident of the Mt Iron Hidden Hills subdivision and has called for a meeting in the new year of community associations to raise awareness, discuss vegetation management, identify ‘‘refuge of last resorts’’, community evacuation plans and lobbying telcos to improve cellphone coverage.
Mr Mawhinney said there were many ways to reduce the risk of fire to houses and property ‘‘and we want as many [Mt Iron] people as we can to buy into this’’.
