BUSH FIRES

Grey River Argus, 11 January 1944, Page 2

BUSH FIRES

In Otago Lakes Area p A. INVERCARGILL, Jan. 10. The fire at Queenstown was brought under control in the early hours of the morning after an allnight fight by bands of residents and visitors. It is now sweeping up the valley behind the powerhouse, but away from the town and all danger is past. Brigades from Invercargill, Dunedin and Gore, and also brigadesmen with equipment from, Arrowtown, Cromwell and Alexandra went to Queenstown to help. . The Invercargill and Dunedin Brigades are still there coping with the outbreak. The Deputy-Mayor (Mr. J. S. Royds) stated the wind changed after 3 a.m., or all the brigades could not have held the fire. The flames got into trees at the edge of the camping-ground, that’s how close it was. He expressed gratitude for the prompt assistance of the various brigades, for at one stage it looked as if the whole place would be enveloped. The bush along the lakeside towards Glenorchy Road was destroyed but the two- houses in the path of the fire were saved. No one was hurt. It is estimated that two thousand acres, including an area of birch, at the back of Ben Lomond, were destroyed. The camping ground was evacuated but campers are returning there now after spending a night helping to fight the fire. Victorian Bush Fires ■ MELBOURNE, Jan. 10. . More than 40 houses, public hospitals and hotels were destroyed at the week-end in one of the most serious outbreaks of bush fires in Victoria since 1939. Hundreds of miles of forests, grassland, and fencing have been destroyed, and thousands of animals burnt to death, but only one man has been reported as seriously injured. '