OHAU BURNS 20 houses destroyed
DEVASTATED residents evacuated the normally idyllic lakeside village of Lake Ohau in the Waitaki district after being woken by a massive blaze early yesterday.
The fire remains ‘‘very much active’’ with four fire appliances on duty overnight in the area to protect houses and other structures.
But at least 20 houses were believed to be damaged or destroyed in the 1608ha fire, which tore through the village after starting about 3.15am yesterday.
Last night, Fire and Emergency New Zealand incident controller Steve Jones said the 11 helicopters fighting the fire had been stood down at dark and would resume firefighting at dawn.
Eight ground crews would also be deployed today to resume the effort.
Six further properties north of the village were evacuated by police late yesterday as a precautionary measure in case the wind veered in the night.
Otago Principal Rural Fire Officer Graeme Still said there were no injuries or loss of life as residents and visitors in up to 70 homes were forced to flee.
More than 100 people had registered at an evacuation welfare centre operating at the Twizel Events Centre.
Mr Still said the fire was ‘‘very active’’ yesterday afternoon.
Sixteen crews were working to steer the fire away from other structures and critical infrastructure, including the main power lines servicing Queenstown and Wanaka.
The scenes on the ground looked ‘‘like a war zone’’.
Lower temperatures and easing winds overnight would provide some relief, he said.
An urban search and rescue team would complete an assessment of the damage today.
Mr Still said he had ‘‘quite an upsetting meeting’’ with residents, who were told they would likely be able to return and access their properties today.
William Brown (12), of Auckland, said he was woken by his mother in the middle of the night.
‘‘We woke up at 3am and there was a fire outside our window. I thought Mum was overreacting at first, but no,’’ he said.
The family’s holiday home had been destroyed.
‘‘We forgot lots of things.
‘‘The only thing that’s still [standing] is the chimney and our outside table.’’
The Barn at Killin B&B owner Hugh Spiers described the horror of being separated from his father in the dark while driving through the ‘‘terrifying’’ blaze.
Mr Spiers said he received a phone call about 3am warning him and his guests to get out urgently.
‘‘It was like the movies. It was really, really scary.
‘‘The flames were big and smoky, thick with heat — there was no time to even take a photo.
‘‘We couldn’t get out our normal way — we had to cross country through a fire break.’’
Mr Spiers reconnected with his father, and all his family and guests were accounted for.
Dunedin resident Andy Winneke woke to dramatic views across Lake Ohau yesterday.
Mr Winneke and his family were camping across the lake and after ‘‘a fairly sleepless night’’ due to high winds he saw the beginnings of the blaze about 4.30am.
‘‘I was happy to be at a distance,’’ he said.
Network Waitaki chief executive Geoff Douch said it was too early to tell what might have sparked the blaze.
He had heard no reports of downed or damaged power lines.
‘‘Last night we had extreme winds in the area, an unprecedented level of winds,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve had to isolate power out of the whole Ohau area, for safety and so that fire services can safely put out the fire.’’
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the mood at the welfare centre was tense at times.
‘‘It is a very stressful time. ‘‘There’s a lot of people feeling very stressed and upset as you’d expect and part of that is that for some it’s that they know their house is gone, and for others they just don’t know yet and it’s a pretty hard wait until they do find out.’’
MetService duty forecaster Tui McInnes said that the winds around Ohau would strengthen today and it wouldn’t be until tomorrow some ‘‘rain spillover’’ was set to hit the area.
The Lake Ohau fire was one of three large fires in the South Island yesterday.
A large pine forestry fire also broke out about 3.15am in the settlement of Livingstone, about 30km northwest of Oamaru.
Sixteen fire crews and eight helicopters battled the blaze.
A third fire, further north in Golden Bay, was brought under control after two helicopters and seven crews responded. — Additional reporting The New Zealand Herald