Early morning flight finds fire has significantly reduced
Cooler temperatures and light rain overnight have helped suppress the vegetation fire at Walter Peak, providing firefighters with more favourable conditions as operations continue today.
An early morning flight found that the fire has significantly reduced, with no visible flames observed around the fire perimeter.
District Commander Blair Kiely says this is a positive sign and reflects the progress being made by firefighters, but he emphasises the fire is not out and firefighters will continue working to identify and extinguish hotspots.
Ground crews are back on the fireground today supported by helicopters, focusing on hotspot suppression and strengthening containment around the fire perimeter.
This has been a large and highly visible fire in the Queenstown Lakes area, burning approximately 1,400 hectares of mainly tussock, scrub and some tree cover. At no stage was there a risk to Queenstown or lakeside communities. No homes, buildings, or livestock have been lost as a result of the fire and Blair Kiely says crews are encouraged by the progress being made.
Fire and Emergency has been working closely with landowners, the Department of Conservation, local iwi, and other partners throughout the response to identify and protect areas and values most at risk. "While our priority has been to protect structures and livestock, we are very conscious of the environmental impact of vegetation fires," Blair Kiely says.
Air operations remain an important part of the firefighting effort, and Fire and Emergency is asking boaties and members of the public to continue supporting crews by staying clear of operational areas. Exclusion zones remain in place for the safety of helicopter pilots, firefighters, and the public.
Blair Kiely says firefighters, helicopter pilots and incident management personnel, and support crews have worked tirelessly in challenging conditions over the past several days.
Fire and Emergency investigators will undertake a formal investigation to determine the cause of the fire, in line with standard procedures.
