PARCHED COUNTRY AFIRE

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1933, Page 7

PARCHED COUNTRY AFIRE

FIERCE FIGHT IN CANTERBURY

DEVASTATION OVER WIDE AREA.

HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF FEED LOST

DAMAGE ESTIMATED OVER £2OOO.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Jan. 18.

Over £2OOO worth of damage was done by a fire which started yesterday morning on the railway line between Bankside and Rakaia, spread out on a twomile front and .travelled swiftly over about ten miles of country parched by the recent dry weather. The fire was fought by about 700 men for nearly 12 hours. It was stopped by a wide area which had been ploughed for cropping. Hundreds of acres of grass, which may not recover before winter, about 50 acres of plantation, many acres of wheat, and miles of fences were burnt, the fire leaving a blackened waste over an extensive area. . , . x With the exception of a shed on one property, farm buildings escaped. Some farmers will be faced with a difficult problem in finding feed for stock. The fire started on the railway line, where burning off of grass was in progress. The flames got out of control. Officers of the Railway Department were making Inquiries to-day as to the extent of the damage.