Lake Ōhau owners reunited with their pets after an emergency evacuation

By Tess Brunton for RNZ

Like winning the lottery, this is how a Lake Ōhau couple have described finding their pets alive and well days after they were separated by fire.

Residents frantically tried to find and bring their pets with them as they fled the embers and flames that swept through the town Sunday morning.

The fire destroyed or damaged at least 40 homes, razing more than 5,500 hectares.

Days later, the fire remains active, with around 17 teams working to manage the hotspots and secure the perimeter.

Three generations of the Hugh Spiers family and their pets fled the flames that roared across Lake Ōhau on Sunday morning.

They were staying at The Barn at Killin B&B, which he and his partner Dwayne own.

“Lala, the crazy cat. They dumped her with Holly and my mom, and left. We got Claude, our ginger cat, and Tay, our dog, and rescued them. We squashed them in the car here. But we just couldn’t find Coco and of course, you don’t think of a little lamb that is over there at the other end of the paddock and the paddock is on fire. You just have to leave it and hope for the best, “he said.

It was a terrible morning: the flames were rising towards the sky, reaching up to 15 meters.

For three days they were restless, not knowing the fate of Gladys, her month-old pet lamb, and her cat Coco.

They were unable to access your property in the bus convoy on Monday … it was still burning.

But on Tuesday night, they were allowed to return with a fire escort.

Hugh Spiers began calling out to Gladys in the dark.

“I could hear this little baa baa, and it was Gladys … I just ran in the dark and I could see this little thing flying towards me like a puppy. I just jumped to my knees and there she was … licking like a puppy and I had a bottle of milk formula with me and she swallowed it, “Spiers said.

“I was overwhelmed with excitement, but I think she was probably more excited to see me.”

But he couldn’t see Coco.

“I could hear Dwayne yelling ‘Coco, Coco’ … and I was like ‘have you got it?’ and he said ‘yeah she’s in the car’ Okay, let’s get out of here.

“Unbelievable … like a phoenix out of the ashes, there were two of our little furry babies. We are so happy guys. We won the lottery last night.”

With all his pets safe, he and his family returned to the village today to see the damage in daylight and discover how Gladys had escaped from her pen.

He had pushed the door so hard it broke the latch.

Gladys is already a month old and already a fighter; the first weekend they brought her home, said Spiers snowing.

He told Heath Du Plessis that Allan Gladys had slept in a little house outside, with a large bowl of water and some food when the couple evacuated.

“I don’t know who was luckier, them or us,” he said.

Across the fire front, Quailburn beef and sheep farmer Grant Murray attempted to save his sheep during the intensity of the fire.

“We could see how bad the flames were and everything else. We started pushing the sheep in the same direction the wind was blowing, the same direction the smoke was going, just to get them out as fast as us.” . might.”

He lost 150-180 sheep out of around 2000 in that part of the farm, but said he was lucky to rescue as many as he did.

Back at Twizel, Fire Incident and Emergency Controller Rob Hands said other residents were hoping to find their beloved pets.

“One of the residents has lost his dog, Milo, and he’s been seen a couple of times. The last hour was around 10 a.m. this morning. I’m still not that excited to get in the vehicle, but we have chocolate fish for those who find it, “said Hands.

Away from animals, insurance consultants have been able to access the area for the first time and have analyzed individual properties today.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand today released dramatic footage of the first crews to hit the fire, with vehicles driving through walls of flames with embers strewn across the road.

Smoke rises into the night sky as bushes on the hillside glow red in the dark.

Firefighters continued to move closer to fully controlling the fire, a spokesman said.

“As of tonight, 91 percent of the perimeter is controlled at 50m (meaning there are no hot spots within 50m) and the remaining 9 percent is controlled at 10m (meaning no there are hot spots within 10 m) “.

Two teams will monitor the fire at night, as drones fly over the area to plot critical points.

Tomorrow crews will return to the fire site and continue to secure the perimeter of the fire, identifying potential hazards and managing any critical points.

– Additional reports from the NZ Herald