Scrub fire covering 200 hectares of scrub land north of Queenstown

Saturday, 28 September 2019

Emergency services have been dealing with a scrub fire at Deep Creek, Skippers Canyon, near Queenstown, on Saturday.

A large scrub fire that destroyed a woolshed and a vehicle near Queenstown has been extinguished and emergency crews have been sent home.

The fire began about 2.45pm on Saturday at the bottom of Deep Creek, forcing the closure of Skippers Rd, north of Queenstown.

Central Otago deputy principal rural fire officer Mark Mawhinney said helicopter crews flew over the area on Sunday morning and found no further activity on the fire line overnight.

Fire crew use monsoon buckets to try and douse a 200-hectare fire north of Queenstown on Saturday.

Forecasters had expected more wind later on Sunday so crews were preparing for that on Sunday morning, but were able to be sent home in the afternoon.

'After tackling the blaze [on Saturday], and conducting preparatory work [Sunday] morning to ensure there were no flare ups, we have not found any hot spots along the perimeter,' he said.

'We … will continue to monitor the situation with a few more checks … and we will keep a close eye on the weather.'

Mawhinney said the fire was likely caused by embers from a controlled burn that was left unattended.

'We have been relatively lucky with this one as there has been minimal damage to property, but this should serve as a reminder for us all. If you are doing a controlled burn, please keep an eye on your fire, stay alert to the changing conditions around you, and once you are finished please put the fire out completely,' he said.

Skippers Rd was closed on Saturday while firefighters battled the blaze, but reopened on Sunday.

Central Otago deputy principal rural fire office Bobby Lamont earlier said the fire covered about 200 hectares at its peak.

Five helicopters with monsoon buckets were used to control the fire, while Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews from Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Luggate, Queenstown and Tarras tackled the blaze from the ground.

Lamont said firefighters hit the blaze hard with 'all the resources' they had available to counter the gusty westerlies.

'Our priorities … [were] containing the fire and protecting nearby structures.

While a woodshed and vehicle were lost in the fire, other properties had been protected, he said.

A resident living in Arrowtown said ash was raining down on Saturday.