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Aoraki / Mt Cook is being evacuated as firefighters continue to fight a gigantic fire that has closed two state highways and continues to threaten property.
State Highway 8 and SH80 were closed as firefighters battled the fire with 14 helicopters equipped with rain buckets, two fixed-wing aircraft and 10 aircraft.
About 50 visitors were evacuated from Glentanner Holiday Park, which Camp Manager Sara Kennedy said was halfway between the fire and the village of Aoraki / Mt Cook.
Kennedy said the road outside their camp, which led them to Twizel, was closed and a firefighter was on duty making sure people couldn’t pass.
John Bisset / Stuff
The great fire, near Twizel, destroyed 2 kilometers of trees in the first hour.
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She said police, who seemed relaxed, met the 65 campers at the site around 4:30 p.m. and offered them a chance to leave.
Kennedy thought of 55 of the evacuated campers and followed police in a convoy.
She said police told people that if they did not evacuate, they could be trapped in the camp for a couple of days.
The fire was about 15 kilometers away, Kennedy said, adding that he could see a glow from his kitchen window.
“Everyone is prepared to just wait as long as it takes to get back,” he said.
John Bisset / Stuff
State Highway 8 is closed due to the fire.
Tamara Waite, a local yoga teacher in Twizel, said she went for a walk in the forest where the fire was burning yesterday.
“I remember thinking about how beautiful the forest is and how we shouldn’t take it for granted,” he said.
“It’s crazy to think that so much destructive energy just happened [it]. “
Waite said he normally walked through the woods every Saturday to help heighten his senses and calm his mind.
On Sunday night, she felt sad for all the people who had lost their homes in the fire, but described the local community as “super supportive.”
Chris Rudge / Aviation Adventures
Air Tractor and Cresco planes operating from Pukaki airport.
The helicopters obtained water from Lake Pukaki to fight the fire that broke out in the bed of a Twizel river and spread to a large forest area on Mt Cook Rd at around 11:25 a.m. Sunday.
Earlier, a New Zealand Fire and Emergency (Fenz) spokesperson said a building at Pukaki Downs station had been “lost” as the fire continued to threaten others, all of whom had been evacuated.
South Canterbury Rural Fire Chief Officer Rob Hands said firefighters would continue to patrol the properties at night, while helicopters would stop after dark.
An incident management team would be squatting at the site for a few days to make sure the fire was “completely extinguished,” Hands said.
Andrew said StuffAt around 4.30 pm, he believed the fire started when a stove fell.
He said four properties were threatened by the fire.
He said the ground crews couldn’t fight the fire on the ground because the bush was too thick.
“They can’t get into it,” he said.
JOHN BISSET / THINGS
A view of the sun through the smoke.
A witness to the fire feared it would last for days as he watched it spit flames 70 meters into the air.
“A kind of fiery tornado has formed,” said Chris Rudge, a resident of Pukaki airport.
Rudge, who lives about four kilometers from the fire, said people were “quite nervous” as a change in wind direction could drive the flames toward Twizel Township.
“The winds here are 25 knots [46.3kmh] And that’s stoking the fire going west, ”he said.
“This fire will absolutely last for days and days. I just pray that no one loses their homes and there is no loss of life. “
John Bisset / Stuff
Fourteen helicopters equipped with rain buckets are fighting the blaze.
Rudge became aware of the fire when he saw a “plume of dense smoke” on the horizon.
“Since then, it crossed the road and burned directly into Lake Pukaki. There are smoking trees along the lake, ”he said.
“There are eight houses between the Mt Cook Highway and the lake, so the helicopters are working hard to save them.”
Rudge found such a large fire in August “very surprising” as fires were more likely to spread rapidly during the dry summer months.
John Bisset / Stuff
A team of firefighters on their way to the fire.
The Fenz spokesman said the fire tore through 2 kilometers of trees in its first hour, but was “well beyond” that size now, although it did not have an updated figure, and had “jumped” the path to enrage both sides.
“We are certainly trying to go after the western flank.”
Brigades from Burkes Pass, Omarama, Otematata, Lake Tekapo, Twizel and Timaru were on land.
The spokesperson said the fire was spreading rapidly due to high winds.
JOHN BISSET / THINGS
The strong winds have caused the fire to spread rapidly.
MetService issued a strong wind watch for Canterbury High Country on Sunday, valid for 42 hours until 3 a.m. Tuesday, forecasting that northwesterly winds may approach strong gales in exposed locations.
A police spokeswoman said police were assisting firefighters in checking properties in the area and controlling traffic.
A spokesman for the Mackenzie District Council said the Council had contacted Fenz and continued to monitor the situation but had not been asked for help at this stage.
“We will inform you if this changes.”
Additional reporting by Steven Walton.
