FIRE AND DROUGHT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 39, 16 February 1911, Page 8

FIRE AND DROUGHT.

•■> -». 1... I.GRASS BURNING AND BUSH ABLAZE. OUTLOOK THROUGHOUT COUNTRY. HOUSES AND STOCK IN DANGER. ■ The prolonged drought of the past two months, has brought its inevitable sequel in fire and • destruction. . in bush, grass, and swamp fir«s. Practically the whole til ihe country between Wellington and Auckland along the Main Truck line has Bartered and is suffering, and a, disastrous grass fire has swept the pastures iv Taranaki between Opunake and New 'Plymouth. In almost every respect the conditions recall to some extent those of the drought of the summer ■ 19U7-1908, ;when the .country round Raetihi _ warf greatly troubled with bush fires. As tfltere hasvbeen a great deal of bush cut all along the Mam Trunk the' circumstances are all the more favourable to fires. The -trees are more scattered and dryer, and the recent spell of Tainlebs ;weafcber has>inade them extremely inflammable. Reports -come from all along th© line and from Taranaki as to tie extent and nature of the -damage. Unless ram falls very soon, the'effect of the dry weatfier will be felt far into the winter. This, of course, is quite apart from damage by fire. UP THE LINE. ■ .Quite close to Wellington there h»ve lieen numerous minor grass, swamp, and' bush, fires. Several were burning- up the Hutt Valley yesterday, and along the Manawaiu line there ,-have been local fires here and there for 'the last week. Just beyond Paekakariki the swamp is burning, and a. certain amount of liax has been destroyed. It is from these fires that the pall of smoke -«a me that gathered over Wellington last night. Further north there 'have been more or less serious foes in the flax s\ n »amps and through paddocks where the herbage has Jbeen sun-dried to a degree. IN THE KINO COUNTRY. Tie worst reports come .from tho King Country. Between Tavunarunm and Oaakune the bush is on fire half ihe way. From Piriaka to Owhango there is nine miles of blaze — a wonderful sight at night. Near Piriaka the men, women, and children turned out to save the sawmill with buckets. The sawmill was saved, but a, quantity of .valuable- timber was destroyed.,. At the Government sawmill at Kakahi it took hours of hard work before the fire could be stopped. The hands just managed to save the log-hauler. Several settlers lost their houses and whares. The township of Raurimu is threatened, but so far is safe. There is, however, great anxiety. At Taumarunui the Wanganui fiiver is unprecedentedly low, and the town is so short of water that it has to be carted from the river. Eound Te Kniti bufih fires are burning and much damage, has also been done to grass. Stock in many places are without feed. Some 10,000 sheep were yarded at Piopio on Mond?£, but nearly all the lots ..■were passed in. There were few "buyers, •with the prospect so alarming. Settlers have much ado to escape the flames in some quarters. The back country of tho Ohura is burning, but reports are not y-at through. 'So far no fatalities have been reported, but times are exceedingly hard for the settlers and their families. In Taranaki losses have been most serious, fences, buildings, grass, and stock having been destroyed m many cases. Hundreds of acres of feed have gone up in smoke. The wind has dropped now, and the outlook is more hopeful. SWAMP FIRES IN THE WAIKATO. In the Waikato deep-rooted swamp fires, havo been very troublesome. The Rukuhia Swamp; between Ohaupo and Franklin, is all ablaze, and considerable area's of grass, together with fencing lines, have gone. Only a heavy rainfall ,will extinguish, these swamp fires, as they burrow deeply among the peat and timber. The fires have progressed so far that Auckland has been under a smoke cloud for days. In the South Island the season has been so dry that even the.^W'est Coast is experiencing bush, fires — in the vicinity of Greymouth. So far there is no prospect of rain. NELSONS WATER SUPPLY LOW. [BZ TELSGRAPH — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] NELSON, This Day. Heavy smoke surrounds the city like fog. There are only two days' _ reserve supply at the waterworks. Rivers m the country are nearly dry. A change appears impending, but it is difficult to tell clouds from emoke.