The Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade is reminding the public to ensure fires in outdoor cooking receptacles are extinguished, after a fire was started this week by a pizza oven.
About 8pm on Wednesday, firefighters were called to a property in McDougall St where a pizza oven, which had been used 24 hours earlier, caused a straw bale wall next to it to smoulder internally.
Fire officer Mark Strang said the incident served as a reminder to people to make sure fires within outdoor ovens and barbecues were extinguished.
A total fire ban is in force across the Queenstown Lakes District and the only permitted fires are electric or gas barbecues in properly constructed containers and fires in approved, purpose-built permanent surrounds.
Queenstown Lakes District Council principal rural fire officer Gordon Bailey said while there were exceptions, generally, built-in pizza ovens were permitted, provided they had a minimum 1.5m flue and were sufficiently recessed.
