A large fire in the Skippers Canyon area, near Queenstown, has largely been contained tonight but a threat of further flare-ups remains.
Mark Mawhinney, Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer for Central Otago, praised the efforts of fire crews in managing the blaze which at one point covered nearly 200ha of scrubland.
“After a sustained effort by 6 helicopters using monsoon buckets and 7 ground crews, we’re confident we’ve done as much as we can to contain the fire, but we need to be prepared for things to change overnight,” he said.
A woodshed and vehicle had earlier been lost to the flames but firefighters fought to protect two other residential properties, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said.
Mr Mawhinney said the wind was dropping and there was a potential for rain overnight, but it would be difficult to get a clear look at the extent of the fire until morning.
“We’ll be standing the emergency service crews down overnight for safety reasons, but the fire will be closely monitored and the response effort will start again at first light once we are clear what we are dealing with,” he said.
Emergency services crews were first called to the fire at the bottom of Deep Creek, Skippers Canyon about 2.45pm.
A cyclist in the area described the scene as "a bit scary".
"I was biking back from Skippers and came across it. Fire patches right next to the road. Was spreading quite fast with high winds over the ridge line"
"They had put [the fire] out by the houses close to the road so someone gave me a lift and that enabled me to get past."
Skippers Rd, which runs up Skippers Canyon, would remain closed until further notice and people were advised to avoid the area.
- Additional reporting NZ Herald
