Rain douses fire

Press, 11 September 1985, Page 1

Rain douses fire

Timaru reporter A fire on about 400 hectares of farmland and scrub behind Mount Studholme near Waimate was fanned by strong north-west winds yesterday, but a southerly change about 2 p.m. brought heavy rain which allowed 70 firefighters to control the blaze. Mr Jack Barbour, of the Forest Service, said from Christchurch that he expected between 400 and 600 hectares of land to have been burnt. A more accurate assessment was difficult with dense smoke covering the Hunters Hills late yesterday afternoon. Before the change in the weather the situation was

serious with winds up to 90km/h forcing the fire into a IOOOha block of young trees which were planted only this year. Once the rain came this section of the fire was quickly controlled and only a few isolated areas were left burning. The fire began at 3 p.m. on Monday after a permit burn on farmland behind Mount Studholme jumped a firebreak and was fanned up the hills by north-west winds. Teams from the Waimate County Council, Fire Service, and later the South Canterbury Catchment Board went to the scene of the fire as it spread through Crown tussock country. The

Forest Service sent its 20member high-country fire team from Christchurch yesterday. Three helicopters with monsoon buckets were used early yesterday but the strong winds made their job difficult. The main problem on Monday evening and early yesterday morning was the possibility of the fire spreading to the Mount Studholme broadcasting and communication stations. About 30 firefighters stayed on Mount Studholme throughout the night protecting the transmitting stations. Eventually the blaze by-passed this area.