Strong Winds Hamper Firefighters Battling Large Wānaka Blaze
Wānaka Blaze Forces Evacuation of 22 Homes
Firefighters in Wānaka contained a large scrub fire that forced the evacuation of 22 homes and sent flames leaping up to 20 metres into the air on Saturday night.
According to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, crews battled ferocious winds to bring the blaze under control near Lagoon Avenue in the suburb of Albert Town after it broke out at 7.30pm.
Steep Hillsides and Kānuka Fuel Rapid Spread
The fire tore rapidly through steep hillsides and kānuka trees close to residential properties, fanned by powerful gusts.
While emergency services initially calculated that seven to eight properties faced immediate danger, Fire and Emergency confirmed that no houses caught fire during the incident.
Residents Describe Intense Heat and Flying Embers
Residents described intense heat and fast-moving flames as the fire advanced.
Marty Lohrey, a resident of McLellan Place, told RNZ he looked out his window to see flames scaling 10 to 20 metres high behind his property.
“Within a few moments… quite quickly the wind just whipped them down the terrace,” Lohrey said. “It was really hot, noisy, and all the embers were blowing across the houses. It made you think of the forest fires we’ve seen, everyone was pretty scared.”
Another local resident, Corey Young, told RNZ he rushed out to assist after spotting a bright glow from his living room.
“They got on top of it pretty quickly but it was very, very close to a number of houses, it was pretty scary actually,” Young said, noting that residents stood ready with garden hoses and buckets of spa pool water to defend their homes.
Hunt Place resident Del Tubb described opening his window to find a blazing inferno across his garden, noting that everything turned bright red amid a shower of flying embers.
Crews Dampen Hotspots Amid Severe Weather
Fire and Emergency NZ Queenstown Lakes manager Nic McQuillan told RNZ that dry ground conditions combined with high winds created a severe hazard, even though the region is transitioning out of winter.
Crews deployed eight trucks and three support vehicles to the scene, remaining on-site late into the night to dampen hotspots and flare-ups.
MetService issued a strong wind watch for Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District covering Sunday morning. Fire authorities announced they are actively investigating the cause of the blaze.