Crews take no chances with Ōhau fire

Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) did not take any chances today when a vegetation fire was reported near Lake Ōhau.

A Fenz spokesman said the fire was reported about 4.10pm and covered an area about 100m x 100m.

Ground conditions in the area were tinder dry, he said.

"We sent a lot of resources early to make sure the fire didn’t take off and get out of control.

"So we had a number of fire appliances responding from Twizel and we also had two helicopters on standby ready to go if needed."

However, the fire was quickly contained and the helicopters were not needed, he said.

In October 2020, a devastating fire near the Lake Ōhau community destroyed 48 houses and covered about 5000 hectares.

It took firefighters nine days to fully extinguish, and was considered one of the worst fires in modern New Zealand history.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz