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Matt Hurst grabbed his family and some clothes before fleeing his home in the face of a rapidly advancing fire on the shore of Lake Pukaki on Sunday.
“From the house we could see smoke and then 10 minutes later big flames,” he told Stuff.
Hurst evacuated with his wife and two children around noon, describing Monday’s experience as “quite traumatic,” as the fire, which has now burned 3,100 hectares, tore through brushwood and wild pines with flames visible up to 70 meters in the air. .
Hurst got a call from a friend who was a firefighter shortly after the fire started, telling him to evacuate.
“We got in a car with some clothes and some other things and we got out of there.
CHRIS RUDGE / Stuff
An aerial photo of the large fire on the shore of Lake Pukaki that has closed State Highway 80 and forced residents to evacuate.
“People are risking their lives in flames 70 meters above us. We were concerned for their safety because it seemed quite dangerous.
“Then there was a big mobilization, the local people called everyone to make sure they were safe.”
Hurst said the firefighters were doing “an incredible job.”
Mike Langford / Stuff
Aoraki / Mt Cook were evacuated as firefighters continue to fight a gigantic fire that has closed two state highways and continues to threaten property.
“Our thoughts are with everyone risking their lives and making sure there is no harm.”
The fire near Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park spread significantly overnight after breaking out in the bed of the Twizel River around 11.25 a.m. Sunday and quickly spread to trees near Mt Cook Rd (State Highway 80).
It had grown to 2,500 hectares Sunday night, but on Monday Mackenzie District Council Emergency Operations Center Public Information Manager Chris Clarke said there was a “significant spread” overnight and now covered 3,100. hectares.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
The wind lifts white caps across Lake Pukaki as smoke rises around the shore Monday morning with Aoraki / Mt Cook watching the scene.
“The winds were pretty calm overnight, but there is so much brush and bushes that it was able to spread without wind,” Clarke said.
“The good news is that none of the other properties have been affected.”
Pukaki pilot Chris Rudge, who flew around the area Monday morning, said the burned area measures 6 kilometers from north to south and up to 5 kilometers wide from east to west.
“Most of the trees that have been burned are Scots pines. It is not a plantation. It’s essentially a forest fire, ”Rudge said.
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Winds are forecast to hit 120 kilometers per hour on Monday “which has the potential to change the situation.”
Clarke said 17 helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft were fighting the fire, with the first helicopters equipped with rain buckets coming up at dawn.
“Most of the fire fighting is in the air.”
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
A helicopter fills a bucket of rain from Lake Pukaki Monday morning in the battle to extinguish a nearby fire.
Clarke said five units of heavy earthmoving equipment, excavators, had been called in to help ground crews establish a perimeter around the fire and protect property.
“They will make a strip 10 meters wide to prevent the fire from jumping.”
The fire jumped Mt Cook Rd and has been burning on both sides. Both roads were closed overnight, but Sheriff Les Andrew de Twizel said Stuff that SH8 reopened around 8.15am on Monday.
Supplied
This map shows where the fire was burning in the southwestern corner of Lake Pukaki on Sunday night. The road through the fire is State Highway 80, also known as Mt Cook Rd. It is the only road into the town of Aoraki / Mt Cook.
“There is a lot of smoke everywhere,” Andrew said, warning motorists to stay away from SH80.
“People would be stupid if it came close to SH80.”
“Everyone has been patient, the police want to thank people for their patience.
“No one has been injured.”
John Bisset / Stuff
Smoke rises from a wildfire on the shore of Lake Pukaki.
New Zealand Fire and Emergency spokeswoman Lyn Crosson said the fire destroyed a building in the Pukaki Downs area around 3.30pm on Sunday.
Three fire crews battled the fire throughout the night, as it threatened other nearby structures.
Crosson said his efforts had stopped the fire damaging other properties.
Andrew said Sunday that he believed the fire started when a stove fell over.
According to MetService, the Aoraki / Mt Cook area expected to peak at 14 degrees Celsius on Monday.
Canterbury High Country, Canterbury Plains and Christchurch, Otago, Southland, and Fiordland Lakes also received a strong wind warning.
However, the weather was expected to bring some relief as some rain was expected to fall on Monday night.
Rain was expected to be heavy in parts and a heavy rain advisory had been issued for the Westland ranges south of Otira, the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthurs Pass, the headwaters of the lakes and Otago and Fiordland rivers. .
The warning was expected to last until early Tuesday morning.
JOHN BISSET / THINGS
A helicopter carrying a bucket of rain heads towards the fire burning near Lake Pukaki.
‘Each of them deserves a medal’
Locals were quick to praise the actions of those who fought the fires.
Mary Hobbs, a local from the village of Aoraki / Mt Cook, said Sunday night that the helicopter pilots continued to do their job despite “hell of daunting proportions.”
“It takes tremendous courage to fly in those conditions with smoke, wind and flames, which sometimes reached 70 meters high,” he said.
Her husband, Charlie Hobbs, was helping fight the fires.
“A heartfelt thank you to each of you wonderful kiwis,” Hobbs said. “Each of them deserves a medal.”
Hobbs also said it was tremendous to see helicopter companies show up and help fight the fires given the impact Covid-19 has had on their tourism-related flights.
“If these companies fail, if these boys and girls lose their jobs, who puts out those fires?”
Tony Delaney was helping out at the Pukaki airport and said everyone did a great job in challenging conditions.
Chris Rudge / Stuff
The fire, near Twizel, tore through two kilometers of trees in its first hour.
He said he had heard that helicopters had already helped save some “really nice houses” among the trees.
“It’s a big fire when you have 20 planes on it, that’s something,” he said.
Delaney also owned a shelter in the Aoraki / Mt Cook village and said he had a dozen people trapped there overnight.
“It is an evolving situation, because this is not going to turn off [on Monday]. “
A Fenz spokesman said Sunday they were grateful for the offers of help from the local community.
“We are organizing food and lodging for a number of staff who are attending and we thank those who have provided resources and support in a short time,” he said.
