Hawke's Bay woolshed destroyed by fire

File photo / NZH

A large woolshed in central Hawke's Bay has been destroyed by a fire today.

Firefighters were called to the blaze on State Highway 5 at Eskdale, 20km north-west of Napier, at 9.30am, and did not leave the scene for about five hours.

The eight-stand shed, measuring about 40m by 20m, was "on the ground" and totally destroyed, Fire Service Napier Senior Station Officer Jamie Nichol said.

It took firefighters about 15 minutes to get to the farm and the building was burning end to end by the time they got there, he said.

Sheep droppings under the shed made fighting the fire difficult, and the best they could do was to make sure the fire did not spread to nearby buildings.

The extent of destruction would make it difficult for investigators to determine the cause of the fire, Mr Nichol said. Four or five bales of wool were destroyed in the blaze.

The shed's owner was away in Taupo but had been told of the fire.

A small flare up was extinguished when firefighters returned to check the scene about 4pm today, Fire Service central communications shift manager Chris Dalton said.

Meanwhile, there were no concerns yesterday's rural scrub fire in the Wairarapa would flare up again.

The 3ha blaze, between Tora and Whiterock, about 50km south of Martinborough, was reported about 10.45am yesterday.

Three fire appliances, four rural fire trucks and two helicopters were called in to battle the blaze in a "fairly rugged" area.

Three rural units remained at the scene overnight but left this morning, Mr Dalton said.

- NZPA