Electrical engineer brought into investigation

INVESTIGATION: An electrical engineer has been brought in to investigate whether arcing power lines caused the Waimarama Fire last week. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND.

An electrical engineer is investigating whether arcing power lines sparked the Waimarama Fire early last week.

Crews from around the North Island responded to the blaze which put the Hastings District in to a state of emergency, left 162ha of countryside black and caused one house to burn to the ground.

Principal rural fire officer Trevor Mitchell said council hired an external specialist rural fire investigator who employed the services of an electrical engineer.

Mr Mitchell said this engineer would provide a report on whether power lines may or may not have been a cause.

Waimarama Rd resident Doug Lowe who was first to spot the fire and dial 111 was one who speculated that power lines arcing caused the blaze.

Mr Lowe said new power lines and a big new transformer had been put in near his property before the fires so wondered whether the lines company had upped the voltage.

"The Unison guys had come in to trim some of the trees and they were right on the spot but with the fires we have had lately there has been that strong wind," Mr Lowe said at the time.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule also said at the press conference last Monday that some fires in the past month had been caused by arcing powerlines though it was not sure whether the Waimarama blaze was.

Mr Mitchell said bringing in an electrical engineer did not indicate any predetermining of a cause; rather it was a case of working through potential causes.

"No cause has been ruled in or out of the inquiry as yet except for lightening."

Unison relationship manager Danny Gough said their position had not changed as none of their lines picked up any tripping event at the start of the fire.

He said usually if the lines arced this tripping event would be picked up on the system.

"In saying that we are happy to support the council and will work closely and constructively with them as we are also keen to find out the cause."

Mr Gough said people have their own opinions about the cause but the Unison would rather go through with the investigation than speculate about what may have happened.

The investigation is expected to take about another month but Mr Mitchell said that depended on how difficult the cause was to find.