Farmer’s scrub fire threatens national park

Press, 11 September 1989, Page 3

Farmer’s scrub fire threatens national park

By

PATRICK McLENNAN

Drought conditions on the West Coast caused a panic on Friday evening when a farmer’s scrub fire got out of control and threatened the Arthur’s Pass National Park 3km west of Otira. The park’s senior ranger, Mr Mark Davies, of Arthur’s Pass, said that although the fire occurred near the Otira River three pumps and I.skm of hoses were needed to provide enough water to fight it. The farmer’s unauthorised fire on his own land caused concern because it leapt a fence and singed a 200 m by 100 m area of podocarp forest in the park, he said.

The fire spread through the crowns of trees in the park and took eight park staff and two volunteers more than 12 hours to control. “We consider it significant when any tree is burned in a national park. We’ll be investigating the circumstances of the fire for sure,” Mr Davies said. Mr Davies would not comment on whether the Department of Conservation would seek a prosecution after the incident. It had been extremely dry west of the Divide. There had been no significant rain on the West Coast for three months, constituting drought conditions, Mr Davies said.