Hell's Gate feels the heat

Hell's Gate near Rotorua has escaped major damage following scrub and sulphur fires yesterday.

The fires broke out about 2.30am and were hazardous because of toxic fumes they created.

Rotorua fire safety officer Stuart Booten said the blaze was not suspicious, and had been extinguished by the afternoon.

It was likely that the hot ground ignited fine debris, such as leaves and twigs, he said.

The scrub blaze was contained first, then firefighters went to work on the sulphur fires. They used breathing apparatus because of the fumes.

There had been concerns the Hell's Gate Thermal Park could be damaged.

"The crews did a really good job of stopping it spreading to a building that was in proximity but unfortunately they lost a small portion of a fence that ran around the building," Mr Booten said.

Earlier, deputy chief fire officer John Booth said the Hell's Gate's landscape would be slightly altered.

When the sulphur rock burned, "It literally melts - like if you can imagine plastic burning, it melts like that".

The park's chief executive, Jim Gray, said safety concerns for the public meant the walkways would be closed for the next few days.

Signage, barriers and the damaged fence would be replaced, the area would be closed off and a helicopter with monsoon buckets would be used in areas of native bush.

"Quite an area of native bush has suffered and that will mean a considerable replanting programme," he said.

Hell's Gate would remain open.

"We're disappointed but ... it's not going to stop us. We'd love people to come out and see the war of nature in its raw state," he said.

Hell's Gate operations manager Adam Hughes said the blaze could have spread to the native bush because geothermal fires travelled underground.

"When the sulphur is on fire it goes bright blue and it looks like a blue liquid over the rocks."

- NZPA