FOREST FIRES

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24800, 14 February 1946, Page 4

FOREST FIRES

FIGHT CONTINUES IN TAUPO DISTRICT

AERIAL INSPECTION BY MINISTER (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 13. Though the seriousness of the fires throughout the Taupo district should not be underrated, nevertheless infinitely worse loss would undoubtedly have been sustained had it not been for the strenuous efforts of the fire fighters, said the Commissioner of State Forests (the Hon. C. F. Skinner), on his return to Wellington from Taupo late to-day. Mr Skinner, who had made an aerial inspection of the areas, emphasised that the weather was still far from reassuring, and probably further reliefs of fire fighters would need to be organised before the present emergency concluded. “Although fires have swept over several hundred thousands of acres of scrub and fern land, losses of buildings and equipment have been extremely small, and up till to-day only three buildings appear to have been destroyed by fire,” said Mr Skinner. “The most critical fires in the Taupo district are still being fought.” One was eight miles south of Atiamuri. and the other east of Taupo township, in the corner between the Kaingaroa State Forest and an exotic forest belonging to Afforestation Proprietary, Ltd. Though not a single acre of State exotic forest had been swept by fire, State Forest Service fire fighters were exerting superhuman efforts to bring the latter fire under control.

The Minister praised the work of Army and Navy personnel from Waiouru in preventing larger losses in the exotic forest east of Taupo. Though virtually all the Urewera forest country, about 1000 square miles, was under smoke, an aerial inspection revealed that the fires were limited to a few hundred acres in the Te Whaiti and adjoining districts. Additional aircraft had been made available for observation and ground-air liaison.