COMMENT: It is a week today since something sparked a grass fire in a parched paddock of Pigeon Valley 30kms south of Nelson. The heat soon ignited nearby forestry that had been exposed to the fierce sunshine blazing on a region that had seen only 6mm of rain in January.
Within two days last week the fire had spread to an area four times the size of Auckland's CBD. Houses on surrounding farms were evacuated and by the weekend, as the fire continued to rage, about 3000 people, including from the nearby town of Wakefield, had gathered up some belongings, and pets, and fled from forecast wind that would bring the fire in their direction.
On Sunday they were lucky. The wind did not arrive. Yesterday the Wakefield residents were told they could return to their homes last night. Fire chiefs were able to catch their breath with the fire contained though they expect the area to continue burning until March.
Destroying 2300ha of trees, it has been one of the largest forest fires New Zealand has experienced, bigger than the Port Hill fire near Christchurch two summers ago and as big as another fire near Nelson in 1981. All are eclipsed by a blaze that seared 30,000ha in the central North Island in 1946 and a fire in Canterbury's Balmoral Forest in 1955. But as with any major fire, floods or other extreme weather event today, it carries an ominous resonance with climate change.
![One of New Zealand's largest forest fires appears to have been well fought. Photo / File](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/AKVUJN7RQWZ2XK5L4W5GBWG3GA.jpg?auth=e6ef0e6f510b1a5e193d3f13a2f32840e44cdbc1af63258612b2b827598ff6fc&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)