OTATARA PEAT FIRE

Southland Times, Issue 24379, 8 March 1941, Page 4

OTATARA PEAT FIRE

1 REPORT TO COUNTY COUNCIL The statement that the peat fire which had started in a property at I Otatara, south-west of the junction of Stead street and Dunn’s road, threatened to create a great deal of damage if not brought under control was made by the county engineer, Mr G. R. Milward, in a report to the Southland County Council at its meeting yesterday. The fire had been burning for I about three weeks and had spread i until it had destroyed 15 acres of i paddock, said Mr Milward. It had been I possible so far to stop the fire at the i roadside ditches, but with each change of wind the fire branched off in a different direction. At the present time the fire appeared to be making towards Marama Avenue where, if sparks were to ignite the bush, a great deal of damage to property would result. Unfortunately, said Mr Milward, very little water was available and the most successful method to deal with the peat was to dig a trench and flood it with water and puddle the ground in advance of the fire. The work done so I far had been purely for the protecI tion of the road. | It was decided that the council would I expend money on the road protection I only. Advice was received from the Invercargill City Council that the council ] was prepared to carry out the sealing of Kew road and was in a position to do so immediately. It was decided that an estimate be obtained from the City Council and that the matter be left in the hands of the county clerk and the county engineer. ACCUMULATION OF SAND The engineer reported that he had been present at a consultation with the committee of the Reserves Department of the Invercargill City Council and the resident engineer of the Public Works Department to consider the accumulation of sand at the entrance to the beach on Dunn’s highway. It was decided that the accumulation of sand at the entrance be removed and also some of the sand north-west of the entrance, this work to be carried out as a highway job. The City Council would, in the meantime, attend to the widening of the roadway on the north side where portion of the sand dune was to be removed. The Lake County Council wrote agreeing to co-operate in the erection of a ?tock bridge over the Mataura river at Garston. Each county has agreed to contribute half of the cost of the bridge, which would be fitted to the side of the railway bridge. The cost would be £9O. Advice that the areas of Collingwood, Waikiwi and Rosedale in the Southland County Council had been included in the district to be covered by the

Emergency Fire Protection Organization was received from the Invercargill Fire Board.