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Lake Ohau Township has been devastated by a fire that has destroyed dozens of homes.
Residents and tourists fled in the middle of the night when the great forest fire struck the alpine village in Waitaki district around 3 a.m. Sunday. The fire, the largest of several burning around Canterbury and northern Otago, is believed to have been started by an electric arc from overhead power lines.
When dawn broke, the scale of the destruction was enormous. Aerial images showed rows of houses, many reduced to charred rubble.
John Bisset / Stuff
An aerial view of Lake Ohau village taken in June 2019.
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Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said the video was the strongest evidence yet of the devastation.
“I am very happy and grateful that no one was reported to have suffered any harm.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
The fire has devastated the village of Lake Ohau.
“Certainly there are many heartbroken people who have lost their homes.”
He said that many of the houses were vacation homes, but there were also several permanent residents. He said that a lot of works have been done in the village in the last five years.
As of noon Sunday, crews continued to fight the fire at Lake Ohau, with six helicopters providing assistance.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
The fire was still burning beyond Lake Ohau village on Sunday afternoon.
The fire covers an area of approximately 200ha and the strong winds are creating “challenging conditions” for firefighters.
The Waitaki District Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center (EOC) spokesperson said 112 people had checked into a wellness center that operates from the Twizel Events Center.
”The Waitaki EOC is coordinating wellness support. This support includes providing people with basic clothing, food, information, lodging and toiletries for tonight, ”he said.
New Zealand Fire and Emergency teams continue to actively fight the fire, he said.
Civil Defense Controller Peter Muldrew said there are no limits to an emergency and the Waitaki EOC is working together with multiple agencies to support those affected.
Muldrew thanked the community for their offers of accommodation and support.
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Andrew Turton / Supplied
The Lake Ohau fire burned at 4:10 a.m. M.
‘IT WAS OUR NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE ON FIRE’
Janet Brown was lying on the bed as strong winds kept her awake when she heard an alarm go off. Moments later, she looked out her bedroom window and saw her neighbor’s house on fire. She got the children and fled.
Brown, who owns a vacation home on Lake Ohau, was in bed when an alarm went off that she hadn’t heard before.
Nikki Adams / Supplied
The fire near Lake Ohau on Sunday morning.
“The windows in our room look directly into the fire and it was our neighbor’s house on fire and it was coming towards us pretty fast, and we had a house full of children. Luckily we were going to catch a flight today, so we packed our bags, got in the cars, and left the house.
“Everyone was evacuating and we took off. It was quite fast because when I turned around I was in the village and it started to burn in the village.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Homes destroyed by fire in Ohau on Sunday.
The family was “exhausted,” he said.
GREAT FIRE AND SPREAD
Pukaki airport resident and pilot Chris Rudge, who had flown near the area on Sunday morning, estimated that it was 5 km in size from north to south by 5 km from east to west.
“It looks horrible. The fire is much larger than the one at Pukaki Downs. So very sad for all those people who have lost their homes and their children.
Nikki Adams / Supplied
The fire near Lake Ohau on Sunday morning.
“It is quite large. The fire starts at the bottom of the lake, with flames going up the hill, ”said Rudge.
“More fires are taking place downwind of the Shelton Downs farm, so the total area of the fire is rapidly increasing in length.
Supplied
A helicopter collects water to fight the Lake Ohau fire that spread large plumes of smoke across the region on Sunday morning.
“Four helicopters now operate in the southern zone and one at the northern end of the fire. The wind is 30 to 40 knots to the north, so the fire is spreading south. “
“The fire is spreading from Parsons Creek north to south of the Shelton Downs farm. Several houses have been lost in Lake Ohau Alpine Village, ”said Rudge.
“The upper end of the fire is now less active with a helicopter controlling it, so the fire is highly unlikely to spread north of Parsons Creek. Therefore, Ohau Lodge is not affected. “
Waitaki District Civil Defense Public Information Manager Chloe Searle said that “the fire is moving in a southwesterly direction away from Ohau Village, but it is heading towards farmland, so farmers are moving their stocks ”.
Omarama Gazette / Supplied
A view of the ‘huge’ fire from across Lake Ohau at 6am on Sunday.
Benmore station owner Deidre Sutherland said they had been asked to “prepare to evacuate” their farm in Ohau.
“We are preparing everything to move forward, we are still in discussions about whether we need to move stocks,” Sutherland said.
You can see the fire roaring from where we are, the sky is really hazy. “
He said family friends had offered them a place to stay overnight at Twizel on Sunday and were working on their moves.
“There are a lot of devastated home and property owners,” Sutherland said.
Supplied / Stuff
Pukaki driver Chris Rudge took this picture Sunday morning. It shows the fire in Lake Ohau Village from across the lake, looking towards Omarama.
Glenbrook station owner Simon Williamson, whose farm is located between Omarama and Twizel, said his property was not affected but he could see smoke in the distance.
Williamson said he understood that the fire was spreading into remote lands.
“It’s going to burn for days and days, and there is very little they can do to stop it,” Williamson said.
“Like the Pukaki fires a few weeks ago, it’s a major Scots pine problem.”
STRONGER WINDS, TEMPERATURE FORECAST
MetService forecaster Tui McInnes said winds in the Ohau area were reaching 90 km / h overnight and “were still quite strong” at this time.
“We expect it to be very windy and quite hot for the next few hours,” McInnes said.
“The winds may weaken a bit over the next day as the pattern changes, but it will be fairly constant.”
McInnes said strong northwesterly winds were expected in the Ohau area for the next 48 hours, and that they would turn south on Tuesday, causing a “massive drop” in maximum temperatures.
Police have evacuated residents of Lake Ohau Village, campgrounds, and other properties in the area.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Helicopter crews are fighting the fire from Lake Ohau village on Sunday.
Mackenzie District Mayor Graham Smith said his council was assisting the Waitaki District Council with its response to the fire.
“We already have about 90 people in the social assistance center in Twizel, while we have enabled the Pukaki airport,” Smith said.
“We are trying to offer as much support as possible, this is a very serious fire, my thoughts are with the affected owners.”
FIRST CALL
Fire and emergency teams were alerted at 3.20 am to the fire in the pine forest, which is about 25 km from Twizel.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said he believed some houses were destroyed before firefighters arrived.
“The theory at this point is that it could have been triggered by power lines bowing and there have been hurricane force winds there, all the way to shore,” he said.
“There are about 70 houses there, but the (number of) permanent residents is around 20 or 30. There are a lot of vacation houses. Being a weekend, there would be more people there. ”
Sixteen fire crews are tackling the fire and people are being asked to stay away from the area. The evacuation point is the Twizel Events Center.
Lake Ohau Road, next to SH8, is currently closed and motorists should avoid the area while emergency services are on site.
FIRES IN CANTERBURY, NORTH OTAGO
Firefighters are also tackling a large pine forest fire in Livingstone, south of Duntroon. The fire is near Mckenzie Rd and also started around 3.15am. Sixteen crews are attending and a command unit from Dunedin and eight helicopters are attending. Nearby properties have been evacuated.
The fire is near Mckenzie Road and also started around 3.15am
16 crews are attending and a command unit from Dunedin and 8 helicopters are attending.
Nearby properties have been evacuated.
Winds blowing through Duntroon, near the site of the second fire, were “very strong” overnight, MetService forecaster Tui McInnes said, reaching speeds of up to 110 km / h and were currently at about 85 km / h.
He expected these patterns to remain in place for the next few hours, while temperatures in that area would also remain warm.
Nathan Trethowen / Things
Firefighters fight bushfire near the mouth of the Hurunui River in north Canterbury.
A third fire is being tackled on Hurunui Mouth Rd, near Domett in North Canterbury, which is being fanned by high winds.
Nine fire trucks and three helicopters have been deployed and the Hurunui River cabins have been evacuated as a precaution.
People are asked to stay away from the area.
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