It was a case of right place at the right time for a Southland helicopter company that joined firefighters in dealing with a large gorse fire near Ryal Bush yesterday.
The intervention of the helicopters also helped an Invercargill fire crew who were delayed after arriving at the scene of a three-car crash in Invercargill while on the way to the blaze.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Alex Norris said Fenz was called to the blaze on the roadside of Makarewa-Browns Rd about 4pm.
Fire crews from Invercargill, Wallacetown, and Hedgehope battling the 200m by 20m blaze were joined by two helicopters from Southland Helicopters, which has its Tussock Creek base on the adjoining property to the fire.
The fire was confined to the gorse and no other property was threatened, the spokesman said.
Coincidentally, an Invercargill crew responding to the fire came across the car crash outside Countdown Waikiwi on North Rd about six minutes after the initial fire call.
One vehicle rolled on to its side and another on to its roof in the collision.
The sole occupants of each vehicle were uninjured and there was little for the Invercargill crew to do except ‘‘a bit of clean-up’’ before a relief crew arrived and they continued on to the fire, Mr Norris said.
He said by 8.20pm the fire had been contained, and the operation scaled back with one helicopter still in use.
At its height, the blaze was fought by 40 firefighters, four fire trucks, two tankers and the helicopters.
