[ad_1]
The Lake Ōhau fire could have been prevented if the Department of Conservation (DOC) managed the highlands better, farmers say.
But the DOC says that fire protection for conservation lands is “largely unattainable.”
In a statement, Federated Farmers High Country President Rob Stokes said it was not even fire season and that nearly 50 houses and more than 5,000 hectares of land had already been damaged since the fire broke out at Lake Ōhau, near from Twizel, early Sunday morning.
“In August we had the Pukaki Downs fires, which also burned on DOC land, and now, just a few weeks later, another fire, which burned again on DOC land. Both fires were completely preventable.
READ MORE:
* The government contributes $ 100,000 to the devastation of the Lake Ōhau fire
* Couple put ‘hearts and souls’ in a house by the lake destroyed by a fire
* High winds will continue to be a problem in the devastating Lake Ohau shooting
“Lake Ohau residents who have tragically lost their homes today must have serious questions about what started the fire.”
Stokes said the reduction of livestock on hill and upland farms for conservation purposes had not been properly thought through.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Simon Williamson of the Glenbrook Station said debris from the fire had fallen on his property more than 20 kilometers away.
Grazing in those areas had previously reduced fire risk significantly by controlling Scots pines and grasses, he said.
“There is simply no science to support the reduction of livestock. Now people have lost their homes due to the mismanagement of the DOC.”
In a statement, DOC operations manager Karina Morrow said that allowing grazing on public conservation lands would have “a significant negative impact on native species.”
The grazed bush would still burn, “so livestock are lost in fast-moving grass fires.”
The fire had already “significantly impacted” public conservation lands west of Lake Ōhau village and Lake Middleton, it said.
“The hot, dry climate of the Mackenzie Basin and the golden bush landscape unfortunately means that fire will always pose a threat.”
Morrow said there had been significant control of the Scots pines near Lake Ōhau in recent years, and so far they had not been a significant fuel source in the fire.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Farmer Simon Williamson said that when fire debris reached his property he feared flames would break out on his property.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage told RNZ that the current government had invested five times more funds in Scots pine control than the previous one: $ 100 million in four years.
“Farmer federations I think he was making an effort for free grazing. Nature does not light fires except through occasional lightning. The key is the management of human activity.”
Glenbrook farmer Simon Williamson said he believed the abundance of Scots pines in the area had stoked the fire.
“The more this happens, the more we put people in positions they shouldn’t be in.”
Williamson said he was not advocating “intensive grazing” but rather “low or passive” grazing like that of merino sheep.
“It is happening in places that are not being grazed. It is mostly Conservation Department land or places where the city council makes any development impossible.”
“At some point, there will be a massive loss of life,” he said.
“Farmers are trying to take care of the land, but we are fighting a green crowd that does not want livestock.”
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Mackenzie District Mayor Graham Smith has “great concerns” that the fire has spread to set-aside land managed by the DOC. (File photo)
Mackenzie District Mayor Graham Smith said he was very concerned that the fire had spread to retired DOC-managed land, which he felt had not been properly cared for.
“It is in a dry area. I understand the need to protect the land, but leaving the vegetation alone is a great risk. It is a massive fuel source for this fire,” he said.
Farmers start calculating costs of Lake Ōhau fire
Lake delhau farmers spent much of Monday counting stocks and assessing damage more than a day after the massive fire, which has now been contained, burned 4,600ha of land.
Grant Murray spent much of the day searching and counting his stock after the fire spread across much of the 2,500ha he rents in Shelton Downs, south of Lake Ōhau Village.
Murray estimated that two-thirds of the land had been burned, but he was confident that most of his 1,800 sheep had been saved.
“I think we will have saved 90 percent of them, maybe 90 percent more. We could have lost 100 sheep, but I don’t know if it’s just a guess at this point. At the moment we are still guessing, we don’t know, we are still finding the way, ”he said.
Murray said that as far as he knew, no structures on the farm had been destroyed.
The owner of the Benmore station, Andrew Sutherland, said that while they had been planning the possibility of moving shares on Sunday, until now they had not needed it.
However, they were briefly observing the situation.
“We could have dodged a bullet, but we can still see the fire from where we are,” Sutherland said.
“We have heard of many properties that have been seriously affected.”
Williamson said that when debris from the fire reached his property, which is more than 20 kilometers away, between Twizel and the turnoff to Lake Ōhau, he feared flames would break out on his property.
“It’s terrifying how fast those things can move.
“My hat is off to the residents of Ōhau village, who have a good system.”
He had received reports from people passing through the area of the fire that livestock had been killed or were “burned and scorched”.
“We won’t know [how many stock have been lost] until people are allowed to return to the area. “
Federated Farmers North Otago president Jared Ross said it was still too early to say how much damage surrounding farms had suffered.
“There are discussions going on, obviously there is some concern around the impact of feed, and there has been talk of the possible need to move livestock as a precaution.”
“We are in a very dry place, we would not be very far from drought conditions. There is a greater sense of awareness.”
