Fireworks across the country causing fires, and horse injury

Saturday, 3 November 2018

Kingseat woman Georgia Savage says her horse Millie was injured during fireworks this week, just days away from Guy Fawkes.

Days out from Guy Fawkes fireworks were proving troublesome over the weekend, causing fire and injury.

Kingseat, Auckland, resident Georgia Savage's horses were heavily sedated on Saturday after fireworks on Friday spooked her mare, Millie, causing her to run into a fence.

Millie, a 15-year-old mare, was in a paddock with her foal when she became spooked by fireworks and ran into a fence, hurting her leg.

Concerned by Friday night's booms, Savage went out to check her mare and foal, Aspie.

Before she could spot them in the paddock next to her home she found a 'big pool of blood'.

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After an expensive call to the after-hours vet, Savage was told the 15-year-old mare's leg was 'too shredded to stitch'.

Millie will need ongoing care, including wound dressings and tending to scar tissue, and could take at least a month to recover, Savage said.

Savage has had to move Millie and Aspie to a friend's property for the week, as it wasn't safe at home for them.

Fireworks were 'horrible' for the horses, and Savage couldn't wait for them to be over, she said.

On Saturday night Fire and Emergency crews were kept busy battling fires caused by fireworks.

In Timaru, emergency services battled a large fire on the Pleasant Point Highway (State Highway 1) at the Phar Lap Raceway.

A Fire and Emergency northern region spokesperson said they had been called to several grass, hedge and bush fires across the Auckland and Northland region.

And on Friday night a massive forest fire at Wanaka, within metres of people's homes, was deemed to be caused by fireworks.

Crews used a helicopter to battle the blaze at Lake Hawea, near Wanaka, from about 5.30pm on Friday.

Homes were evacuated and personnel from four brigades remained on site on Saturday morning to contain spot fires.

Fire crews were working to extinguish a 10-by-10-metre scrub fire in Ferrymead, Christchurch also caused by fireworks.

Further north, fireworks were suspected to have started a scrub fire in Coopers Beach in the Far North around 7pm.

Crews were able to get the fire under control 'very quickly', a spokesman said.

A 'few hundred' homes were without power in Auckland's Henderson Valley after fireworks hit high-voltage power lines shortly before 10pm, a Vector spokesman said.

Crews were on site to ensure the area was safe before power could be restored.

This was likely to be around 2.30am on Sunday, the spokesman said.

In Pukekohe, south of Auckland, a hotly contested private fireworks display went ahead despite protestations from local horse owners and trainers.

Held at the Pukekohe Showgrounds, the display for ITM - sponsors of the V8 Supercars event - went on for around four minutes at 10pm.