High winds cut power to thousands of homes, brought down power lines and sparked fires across the Queenstown Lakes area yesterday and Thursday.
Transport links were also hit, with several roads blocked by fallen trees and wind disrupting two flights at Queenstown Airport.
Lines company Delta spokesman Gary Johnson said gusts cut power to homes and businesses in Dalefield, Lake Hayes, Lake Hayes Estate, Closeburn and Glenorchy.
Power poles were also brought down in the Mt Aspiring Rd area, near Wanaka, as was another tree on the road near Cardrona.
Crews worked through the night to restore power where possible, then resumed repair work at daybreak yesterday, Mr Johnson said.
Power was restored to Wanaka, Lake Hayes Estate, The Neck and Makarora, Closeburn, Glenorchy and Springvale by 5pm yesterday and crews were working on restoring power to the Dalefield area, parts of Kinloch, Moke Lake Rd and Alpine Retreat Rd.
Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd was closed until midday yesterday as a result of multiple tree falls and entangled power lines.
Fallen trees closed Speargrass Flat Rd, between Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Rd and Lower Shotover Rd, until midday yesterday.
Fallen trees also closed Moke Lake Rd, while at the head of Lake Wakatipu, Kinloch Rd was closed by flooding.
Queenstown Lakes District Council spokeswoman Michele Poole said the winds were so severe in places that road signs were snapped off.
Glenorchy resident Sonya Poplawski said power was cut to her home about 10pm on Thursday.
Many trees had come down in the village, including one at the primary school, although the school was open yesterday.
Lightning is suspected of starting a fire that destroyed a wooden pumpshed near the Colonel's Homestead on Walter Peak High Country Farm yesterday.
Otago Rural Fire Authority Southern Lakes deputy rural fire officer Jamie Cowan said staff of landowner Real Journeys monitored the fire until it was doused by rain about 2.30am.
It was fortunate the area around the shed was recently cleared of trees and there was no risk of it spreading.
Wind was the cause of three fire callouts in the Arrowtown area.
Two vegetation fires were sparked by downed powerlines about 4pm on Thursday, while the wind fanned a controlled burnoff and it burst back into life about 2am yesterday.
Timely rain and preparation measures kept a lid on the damage, Mr Cowan said.
''Given the conditions and the number of power lines that came down, we certainly got off lightly."
About 10mm of rain from 2am yesterday had reduced the fire risk, while a proactive decision by Delta to switch off auto-reclosers on its network had been a good move.
It meant power lines that shorted were not automatically reconnected, preventing them sparking vegetation fires, he said.
Heavy winds also affected Southland. The Riverton Racecourse grandstand's roof was blown off on Thursday night.
Roofing iron and timber peeled off and landed several hundred metres away in a paddock.
- Guy Williams & Mandy Cooper
