Hillside afire at Allandale

Press, 5 November 1977, Page 6

Hillside afire at Allandale

Twenty firemen spent a vigil on ’ the Port Hills last night, watching helplessly over a big scrub fire that burnt out hundreds of acres of the hillside above Allendale yesterday afternoon and last evening. It is hoped to put out the fire this morning. The fire broke out early yesterday afternoon, when an easterly wind strengthened and fanned dead gorse that was being burnt off above Allandale. The Fire Service was

called out about 3 p.m. yesterday, several hours after the burn-off got out of control.

By that time the fire had burnt up the harbour side of the Port Hills above Allandale — destroying mainly gorse, grasu, and scrub — had begun to bum over the ridge and threaten Kennedy’s Bush, near the Sign of the Bellbird. Firemen had the fire surrounded last night, but made no efforts to put it out because it was too dangerous

to put men down into the valleys, said a Fire Service spokesman.

Firemen from Headquarters, Harewood, Sockburn and Spreydon as well as volunteer firemen from Governor’s Bay and Lyttelton turned out yesterday. Water tenders from Christchurch local bodies were called on, in addition to several private contractors, to offset the lack of water on the Port Hills.

The fire is another thorn in the side of Governor’s

Bay people worried about the hazards associated with spraying herbicides.

It was the second fire in the area in three weeks, and in both cases gorse had been sprayed — and killed — and the controlled bum-off had got out of control, said a member of the local group formed to oppose the spraying. It was paradoxical that one of the reasons for spraying gorse with 2,4,5-T was that the gorse was a fire hazard, she said.