MORE THAN 100,000 TREES LOST

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 96, 19 January 1944, Page 4

MORE THAN 100,000 TREES LOST

Pinehaven Fire Toll

AREA STILL SMOULDERING A pimts iiisignis plantation of 100,000 trees (belonging to'Mr. G. B. Bull, public accountant, ■\Velllng'tou, was destroyed in the lire at Finehaven, as was also part of the Tongue plantation of God\vi nand. Chichester Limited, where the trees are 16 years old. Mr. Hull said yesterday that the trees in his plantation were of varying ages. He could uot give an estimate of their value. The whole area will require Constant watching for a week yet and it is not yet possible accurately to gauge the total extent of the fire loss. The Bond plantation of 200,000 trees was not affected. Yesterday hundreds of logs and old tree stumps, the latter probably from a long ago fire, were smouldering and, with a moderate to strong wind, the possibility of a further outbreak remains. As a representative of Goodwin and Chichester put it, “It’s under control as far as we can see, but we’ve got to sit on it. While the fire was at its height the army party maintained radio-telephone control over the whole area, five sets operating to contact and report to the forestry department officer, who had supreme control of the fire fighters. The army was still on the job yesterday, and is in full charge, subject to the forestry officer’s direction. Extinguishers were being used yesterday on the smouldering patches. Goodwin and Chichester s representative said that the Pinehayen residents put up a wonderful fight. The army authorities were most co-operative, and it was the numbers of the soldiers which finally won the day. 'The Hutt Valley Electric Power Board and Wallaceville laboratory staffs and the three fire brigades. Upper Hutt. Silverstream, and Stokes Valley, did splendid work. It would not be possible for a week, he said, to get an accurate estimate of the damage. A good number ,of trees had gone in the Tongue plantation.