February 5, 2009

A massive fire on a hillside north of Nelson forced emergency workers to evacuate more than 200 homes last night.
Six helicopters and at least 15 fire engines battled the fire for several hours from 4pm. Another helicopter from Rotorua was put on standby.
Police evacuated homes at the top of Dodson Valley. They were sent to Founders Heritage Park in Nelson, where Civil Defence set up a base.
Nelson Fire Service deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion said the blaze consumed nearly 50 hectares of land and was still spreading at 7pm.
By 9pm, the fire was being brought under control and firefighters were confident they had it contained. About 200 homes were evacuated.
Incident controller Mark Donaldson said the changing wind direction meant firefighters did not know which way the fire would spread after it moved from gorse to a pine plantation further up the hill.
An ambulance treated one firefighter for smoke inhalation.
Local Stuart Morrison said the fire 'got big in a hurry' but moved away from the residential area with a wind change. 'They [firefighters] seem to have got the better of it.'
He said there were 'a lot of flames' visible and the smoke was being blown toward the city. 'It's spectacular watching the choppers lining up [to refuel].'
Meanwhile, a house near Wellington was threatened by a scrub fire yesterday afternoon.
The fire, near the Porirua suburb of Whitby, began about 3.15pm when a 'reasonably large' area of scrub and pine plantation caught alight.
Central fire communications shift manager David Meikle said four fire engines, four Wellington City Council rural fire force trucks and a helicopter responded to the fire near Bradey Rd. It was under control by 5pm and the house was not damaged.
Uphill battle: Bystanders watch helicopters with monsoon buckets fight the hillside fire in Nelson yesterday.