Nelson Fire

[DazzaMc]

These hills are always going up in flames - it's only a matter of time and someones going to die.

This time thou they should catch it, they would have had sea breezes there today and they normally start dying off about now..... heres hoping anyway.


Evacuation as Nelson scrub fire spreads

Residents are being evacuated as a large fire on a hillside north of Nelson city continues to spread.



By 7pm police had started evacuating residents in the area of the fire at the top of the Dobson Valley - including Paremata St, Seawatch Way, Bay View Rd.

Evacuees were being sent to Founders Heritage Park in Nelson, where Civil Defence had set up.

Police are asking the public to stay away from the area until the fire is under control.

Six helicopters were to be used to battle the blaze this afternoon, with another helicopter from Rotorua on standby.

At about 6.30pm an area less than 50 hectares was burning. The fire was not contained and was still spreading, Nelson Fire service deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion told the Nelson Mail.

An increasingly large plume of smoke was visible from the central city, as firefighters fought to get the fire in Dodson Valley under control in breezy conditions. Firefighters were called out just before 4pm to the fire, at the top of Frenchay Drive.

The fire has spread from gorse, to a pine plantation further up the hill, and firefighters have been checking how close the fire is to houses in nearby Bayview Rd.

Incident controller Mark Donaldson said firefighters were concerned because the changing wind direction meant they did not know where the fire would go.

At 5.30pm they had three helicopters trying to put out the fire with water-filled monsoon buckets, with another three helicopters on the way, and one helicopter from Rotorua on standby.

Cars were parked along State Highway 6 at Atawhai as people drove out from Nelson to watch the fire, with the sky brown and filled with smoke.

Firefighters from around the Nelson area are battling the blaze.

Meanwhile, eight fire engines and a helicopter were fighting a scrub fire in Porirua north of Wellington.

Fire service spokesman Dave Meikle said the fire was quite large but said he believed it was being brought under control.

It had burned scrub and a pine plantation in the Bradey Rd area in Whitby. The road had been blocked off.

Scrub fires have flared in several parts of New Zealand as the dry summer renders scrub and forests more prone to fires.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4836871a11.html

[DazzaMc]

Residents were evacuated tonight as firefighters battled a large fire on a hillside north of Nelson city.

By 9pm firefighters had the fire in Dodson Valley almost under control and were confident they had it contained. Ninety to 100 residents were evacuated from their homes in the area while firefighters were battling the blaze.

Police had started evacuating residents in the area - including Paremata St, Seawatch Way, Bay View Rd - at 7pm.

Evacuees were being sent to Founders Heritage Park in Nelson, where Civil Defence had set up.

Police were asking the public to stay away from the area until the fire was under control.

Several helicopters were used to battle the blaze this evening, with another helicopter from Rotorua on standby.

At about 6.30pm an area less than 50 hectares was burning. The fire was not contained and was still spreading at that time, Nelson Fire service deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion told the Nelson Mail.

A large plume of smoke was visible from the central city this afternoon, as firefighters fought to get the fire under control in breezy conditions. Firefighters were called out just before 4pm to the fire, at the top of Frenchay Drive.

The fire spread from gorse, to a pine plantation further up the hill.

Incident controller Mark Donaldson said firefighters were concerned because the changing wind direction meant they did not know where the fire would go.

Cars were parked along State Highway 6 at Atawhai as people drove out from Nelson to watch the fire, with the sky brown and filled with smoke.

Firefighters from around the Nelson area were battling the blaze.

Meanwhile, eight fire engines and a helicopter were fighting a scrub fire in Porirua north of Wellington.

Fire service spokesman Dave Meikle said the fire was quite large but said he believed it was being brought under control.

It had burned scrub and a pine plantation in the Bradey Rd area in Whitby. The road had been blocked off.

Scrub fires have flared in several parts of New Zealand as the dry summer renders scrub and forests more prone to fires.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4836871a11.html

[Calliope]

Nelson Mail > Story
Firefighters keep battling hillside fire
UPDATE

Eleven helicopters are this morning back dousing a fire that ripped up the hillside in Dodson Valley, north of Nelson city.

The fire broke out just before 4pm yesterday at the top of Frenchay Drive and involved dozens of firefighters from the Nelson region battling it into the night, with the help of helicopters using water-filled monsoon buckets.

The fire spread from gorse, to a pine plantation further up the hill.

Last night 12 helicopters were used - 10 dropping water on the fire and two used to help control the operation.

Ten of the 11 helicopters being used this morning are dropping water to try and cool hotspots, while one is being used to help control the operation.

The streets of Nelson were filled with smoke and ash drifting from the large fire last night. About 100 residents were yesterday briefly evacuated from homes which the fire was threatening, although no houses were ultimately damaged.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelsonmail/4837631a6007.html