Efforts are continuing to put out a vegetation fire at Awarua Bay in Southland, with ground conditions proving problematic for firefighters.
The blaze broke out south of Invercargill on Saturday night on what is mostly Department of Conservation land, made up of 1000 hectares of manuka scrub and peat soils.
As of Monday morning there are eight crews and nine helicopters on scene fighting the fire.
Ground conditions are proving problematic. (Source: 1News)
Incident Controller Mark Marwhinney says that boggy, uneven ground is making it difficult for firefighters to get around.
The fire originally spanned over 1000 hectares of vegetation. (Source: 1News)
They are also having to deal with hot ash pits where the fire has burnt underground and parts of the fire ground that are tidal, meaning water levels change throughout the day.
Marwhinney says that while the fire didn’t grow significantly overnight, easterly gusts expected from this afternoon could spread the fire further.
He says crews established a fire break on Sunday to manage this wind change.
Fire and Emergency will be carrying out an investigation into the cause of the fire and have said it may take over a fortnight to fully-extinguish the blaze.
The public is asked to stay away from the Awarua Bay area.
Awarua-Waituna is one of New Zealand’s largest remaining coastal wetland systems, one of five significant wetlands in DOC’s national Awarai Kākāriki wetlands restoration programme. It is home to many wading birds and other species.
It is also significant to Ngāi Tahu whānau and to the local community.
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