FIRES IN NORTH
THE WAIRAKEI REGION SPREAD OF THE FLAMES 6 COUNTRY POWDER-DRY (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 13. “Without actually seeing the district it is difficult to appreciate the extent of devastation caused by the widespread fires in the Wairakei region,” said Mr C. M. Bowden, M.P., a director of New Zealand Forest Products, Limited, who returned yesterday from an inspection of the fire-swept areas. “ There has been no rain for many weeks, and the country is powder dry. The fires simply ran through the fern and scrub, and whenever they reached the forest a howling wind caused them to jump ahead in quarter-mile hops.” Mr Bowden added that the usual technique of cutting breaks and burning back was hopeless in those conditions. Miles of country have been devastated, and the loss must run into a very large amount. The forest destruction was a national calamity. “The utmost credit should be given to the magnificent service of hundreds of men who are toiling day and night to arrest the flames," he said. “I saw them grimly, in smoke and sweat, singed and scorched by the intense heat, and with eyes bloodshot from exposure and lack of sleep, almost dropping in their tracks from weariness, yet battling against the devouring monster. It was sheer courage and will power that kept them going.”
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 26077, 14 February 1946, Page 4
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220FIRES IN NORTH Otago Daily Times, Issue 26077, 14 February 1946, Page 4
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