Boisterous scrub fire closes main highway
BY KELLY LONEY
Relevant offers
State Highway 3 was closed yesterday afternoon when a scrub fire sparked out of control and smoked out a section of road at Ngaere.
Eltham deputy fire chief Dave Waite said there was zero visibility when the volunteer fire brigades turned up at about 2.45pm.
The road was closed for 10 minutes while the teams from Eltham and Stratford set up their gear and four fire appliances.
Mr Waite said a scrub burn-off on a roadside paddock had quickly leapt when the wind blew up and it took just a couple of sparks and dry grass for the fire to burn 150 metres of railway siding.
The section of railway had acted like a wind tunnel, he said.
Firefighters spent about an hour and a half using water and compressed air foam to douse the flames.
- © Fairfax NZ News
Sponsored links
Should the council exercise its right to ban smoking in council-owned flats?
