Picton forestry blaze brought under control
Nelson feeling heat
A fire has broken out in a pine forestry block near Picton aerodrome.
Four helicopters and fire crews from Picton, Blenheim and Rarangi were called in to battle the blaze, which started about 2pm yesterday.
Fire and Emergency NZ Marlborough principal rural fire officer John Foley said the fire was ‘‘pretty much’’ contained by 4.30pm but it would take a while to mop it up.
The fire moved up and over a ridge line so it was hard to see the full extent of the damage, but he guessed it covered three to four hectares.
Foley said he was unsure what started the fire. He had been in Nelson trying to determine the cause of a second large blaze there, which started on Wednesday.
He would investigate the Koromiko fire today before going back to Nelson to continue his investigations there.
Helicopters were on site in Koromiko until dusk yesterday and fire crews would dampen hot spots on today, Foley said.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said earlier in the day that the Picton aerodrome was not affected.
Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford confirmed flights in and out of Picton were operating as normal.
Helicopters were seen filling their buckets from tankers, which were driving up forestry roads to get closer.
A large digger had been brought in to start clearing a containment line and forestry workers had been removed from the area.
A dozen cars were parked at the aerodrome, with people out watching The drought-hit Nelson region remains on extreme fire alert as police try to pinpoint the cause of a blaze that forced some residents from their homes for the second time in a month.
Just hours after a three-week state of emergency for the 2300-hectare Pigeon Valley fire expired on Wednesday, another blaze erupted in Redwood Valley, a few kilometres northeast of the original fire boundary.
A total of 97 properties in the area were evacuated but residents were later allowed to return home after firefighters contained the 13ha blaze.
Police investigating the cause of the fire said yesterday they wanted to speak with a person seen running down nearby Eban Rd around 2pm on Wednesday with a dog. They have yet to determine if the fire was suspicious. the fire. A dairy farm was in front of the forestry block, and the nearest house was some distance away.
The fire was well away from State Highway 1, between Blenheim and Picton, near Speeds Rd at Koromiko. Two trains had passed the area without issue.
Picton resident Alex Gregor said he heard sirens about 2pm and saw smoke coming over the elevation and thought it could be on his friend’s property.
‘‘I went for a quick drive over with my brother and saw it was in the hills, above the airport. The fire was smouldering at first and then the smoke picked up . . . it was red smoke so you could tell she was burning pretty good.’’
Gregor watched a helicopter with a monsoon bucket dropping water on the blaze, he said.
Fire and Emergency NZ is asking people to stay away from the area.