Serious Fires in Lake Tarawera Area

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 6, 8 January 1944, Page 2

Serious Fires in Lake Tarawera Area

AUCKLAND, Jan. 6.

Further concern was caused in the Rotorua district in _an entirely new direction this morning when a fire broke out in the country bordering Lake Tarawera between tho Green Lake and Mount Tarawera, The fire spread rapidly through the dry undergrowth and threatened the caretaker’s house at Lake Tarawera and the vicinity. At one stage at Lake Tarawera the caretaker’s residence and other hutments were completely encircled. Later the fires started to swing toward the tearooms at the buried village and scrub country surrounding it. A continuation of the fire created a serious menace to the Governmentplanted forests edging the Blue and Green Lakes. The Forestry fire patroi sent an urgent call to the commander oi the Maori troops and a detachment was quickly sent to the scene complete with steel helmets and fire-fighting equipment. The detachment proceeded to cut the firebreaks and take other precautions but toward evening the threaf had abated.