Winds hamper Otago fire fighting

WILMA McCORKINDALE WILMA McCORKINDALE WILMA McCORKINDALE ROSS MARSHALL-SEELEY JO NEILSON STEFAN MUTCH/Treehaus landscape studio MICHAEL ALEXANDER MCQUEEN/Durable Graphics MARTYN ROBERTS

GET TO THE CHOPPER: A helicopter carries a monsoon bucket over the burning forest.

SCORCHED: A helicopter flies over the burning forest.

AERIAL ASSAULT: A helicopter unloads its monsoon bucket on the burning pines.

Smoke seen over Dunedin, about 9am Wednesday.

Smoke from the forest fire seen over Dunedin, from Andersons Bay Tuesday night.

The fire burns through the night.

The forest fire in the Taieri Gorge blazes overnight.

Haze over Dunedin caused by the forest fire, about 80 kilometres away.

« Previous« PreviousNext »Next »

Winds rising to 60km an hour are hampering efforts to control the fire at Wenita Forest Products forestry near Dunedin this afternoon.

The blaze has now ripped through 820hectares of the forestry at Mt Allan. It broke out on Tuesday about 4pm, the likely cause a friction spark from a log hauling rope.

At the scene Bryan Jensen, the leader of one of three National Rural Fire Authority's incident teams, said he was nervous about the gusts, blowing north-to north-west.

"It's making us a little anxious about the level of control we have created out there," he said.

The fire was being held but was not yet contained.

Jensen and his team took control of the scene today, providing respite for the local command which had been monitoring and controlling operations close to the scene since the fire broke out Tuesday.

Two five-strong ground crews had begun working on a logged northern ridge of the forest. In spite of the challenging wind, helicopters were continuing their aerial onslaught using monsoon buckets.

Around 2pm an airplane began dumping water and foam comprising a chemical fire retardant across the smoldering forest blocks.

Dark clouds are closing in the area today, threatening rain but producing only a few spots. Jansen said at least they had helped to cool things down.

Dunedin City Council Rural Fire issued a statement today saying a formal investigation into the fire was now underway.

People evacuated from five properties, including a holiday home, would not be returning home tonight.

Walking tracks into the area remain closed. For the second day the Taieri Gorge Railway cancelled its excursion into the area.

- D Scene