A FOREST FIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21772, 11 October 1932, Page 9

A FOREST FIRE

OUI.BREAK IN CORPORATION?! RESERVE

SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND TOES DESTROYED

A disastrous forest fire which ; for v ;■ £ nearly seven hours resisted all the efforts of a band of volunteer fire- % fighters to deck it, swept over the Dun- ;j edin City Corporation’s afforestation reserve at Waipori on Sunday afternoon,. and completely destroyed nearly 600,000 young trees, covering an area of approximately 1000 acres. The damage would undoubtedly have been considerably more serious had it not been for the initiative displayed by a resident of the district, Mr R. Cotton, who first discovered the fire. Shortly after noon, Mr Cotton, who was motoring from Waipori township to Lake Luella, noticed a blaze spreading along the outskirts of one of the plantations. He immediately gave the alarm to, a gang of tree-planters who were camped in the vicinity, and returned with all haste to Waipori, ’where he a.uembled a party of volunteers and collected as manv empty sacks as were available. By the time the party arrival back at the fire, the tree-planters were using 'V. every endeavour to stay tbe progress of the, lire with branches and whatever else they could use for the purpose. The eacku were distributed to all hands and the men from the township and the . corporation employees fought with a will in an attempt to beat out the ' flames, but despite their efforts the fire, \ fanned by a fairly strong breeze, continued to spread, and it was not until nearly 8 o’clock that it was estinguished. -* So far as can be ascertained, the fire broke out near the footbridge at the top end of Lake Luella, and aided by the breeiie, spread to the top of Luella Hill, : whence it followed the hillside to a point almost at right angles to the dam. The > . task of the fire-fighters was rendered all the more difficult by the intense heat and the dense clouds of smoke that obscured visibility in’the vicinity ofwhere they were working. The fact remains that by their plucky fight against great odds they were instrumental *in, saving from 4000 to 6000 acres of valu- ' able trees the destruction of which would have meant a severe loss to the «ty. ■ / ' ' The Waipori afforestation area covers , approximately 6000 acres, the block that was burned being' planted only about three years ago. The majority of the treeii destroyed were pinna insignia and Corsican pine,; some of them having: .attained a llelght of tfiree to lour feet; but the superintendent of reserves (Mr D. Tanntfck) stated lest evening that the lose is not irreparable' as he has at present on hand >■ sufficient deedlings to re-plant the greater part of the area; and that if the damp weather continues, the planting could be completed before the grass gains too firm a hold. , Tiie City Corporation now controls , large afforestation reserves at iFkgstaff, Whare Flat and Waipori,rand Sunday’s fire wais the firsteeriduß* outbreak that has occurred in any of them. In 1930 ’ the afforestation areas were created a fire district, the procedure phmng the City Council in a position to exercise complete control over the lighting of ■ 1 fires oh all lands in the vicinity of tree plantations and generally improving its powers for safeguarding the forests from the fire menace. Precautions are regularly taken to prevent fires by the clearing of gorse and grass by the roadside - flanking the reserves. Tiie lighting of fires on foredt reserves is strictly prohibited, a very necessary prohibition in viewi of the fact : that even a atray spark might result in the destruction of the work of years and be responsible Jfor the loss of thousands of pounds worth of valuable timber.