Arson suspected in Christchurch forest fire

Firefighters were this morning clearing up after a suspicious fire was started in a forest at Waimairi, north of Christchurch, overnight.

Christchurch City Council rural fire officer Keith Marshall said the fire appeared to have been purposely lit among logging debris in the Bottle Lake Forest Park, burning an area of about one hectare.

It was started in the same place as a fire which spread from the forest and destroyed about 15ha of trees, scrub and tussock at Waimairi Beach on January 2 this year.

At least two other suspicious fires have started in the same region since then.

Mr Marshall said the Fire Service was alerted at about 4.30am to the latest fire, but it was likely to have been lit a few hours earlier.

By mid-morning flames had been dampened down and an excavator had put a fire break in to stop any risk of the fire re-igniting and spreading.

- NZPA