Fires spark Hastings emergency
Hastings was under a state of emergency last night as several large fires burned in the district.
Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence declared the state of emergency in the afternoon and asked members of the public to stay away from the fires.
Properties were evacuated along Waimarama Rd, near Havelock North, where one house had been destroyed and a second was under threat by a large grass fire.
Wildfires were also burning in Poukawa, in Havelock North and Puketitiri – all fanned by strong winds and hot temperatures.
The cause of the fires was unknown.
Hastings Fire Service said about 18 tankers and fire engines, along with four helicopters and monsoon buckets, were called to the blaze on Waimarama Rd.
Senior station officer Colin Littlewood said winds shifting everywhere made the fire very difficult and dangerous to fight.
There had been numerous horse rescues as well as house evacuations, he said.
He confirmed one house had been claimed by the flames, while a wall in another house had been destroyed before firefighters saved the remainder of the building.
At 11am yesterday, the area burnt by the Waimarama Rd fire was estimated at 50 hectares, and it grew bigger during the afternoon.
Littlewood said firefighters were originally battling a 1.5km front, but that had grown much larger by 4pm. He was unsure just how big the fire had grown.
The gutted remains of one hilltop house could be seen from Waimarama Rd.
Helicopters fighting the blaze were taking water from the nearby Tukituki River.
Emergency services closed the road, preventing vehicles travelling to the coastal Ocean and Waimarama beach communities.
A Hastings District Council spokeswoman said schools in Hastings and Havelock North with students from these areas had been contacted and arrangements made, should the children not be able to return home.
The council advised motorists on the road to Waimarama to not go any further as the road was being used as a fire break.
This left the coastal communities cut off from main centres in both vehicle access and power.
Electricity network operator Unison switched off power to the area at the request of the fire service about 11am. This left 700 surrounding homes and businesses without electricity.
A company spokesman said customers should be prepared for an extended period of power outages as crews could not enter the area to inspect powerlines until the blaze was brought under control, and the level of damage was unknown.
Meanwhile the blaze at Poukawa was being fought by rural Hawke’s Bay crews, plus firefighters from Auckland and Taranaki.
So far 270 hectares of grassland was burnt and one house nearest the fire was self-evacuated.
A council spokeswoman said concern about this blaze would rise if the forecast northwesterly winds rose and sent the fire towards Te Hauke village.
Phone calls and door knocks were made to residents in the immediate area advising them the risk was low, but to be prepared with a carry bag holding essentials, she said.
The grass fire in Havelock North was being attended by the fire service but further details were not available.
It was cool and drizzling in the Ripia stream area around Te Pohue and Puketitiri where the fourth fire was burning.
This was being monitored but all firefighting resources were being used at the other fires. – Fairfax NZ