About 150 properties have been evacuated in the Tasman District as a fire rages out of control near Nelson. The blaze has been declared a Civil Defence emergency.
The Tasman fire that started yesterday afternoon in Pigeon Valley has doubled in size overnight and spread to cover 1870ha within a perimeter of 20km by 3am.
The fire raging near Nelson has destroyed homes and forced dozens of families to evacuate, prompting a Civil Defence emergency to be declared in the Tasman Region by mayor Richard Kempthorne.
Here's what you need to know about the blaze:
• The Tasman fire that started yesterday afternoon in Pigeon Valley has doubled in size overnight and spread to cover 1870ha within a perimeter of 20km by 3am.
• Fire crews are hoping a change from a southerly to a northerly will help slow the fire spread.
• People have been evacuated from Eves Valley, Golden Hills Rd, Redwood Valley Rd, Mallings Rd and Greenacres Rd.
• Firefighters today plan to mount an aerial assault on the fire helicopters and fixed-wing aircrafts and on the ground heavy machinery would be used to create firebreaks.
• The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Fanned by southerly winds over most of the night the fire has caused material damage from Pigeon Valley north to the Inland Moutere Highway and Waimea West Rd.
If people feel unsafe or unsure in any way, they are advised to self-evacuate to the Civil Defence Centre at St John's Church on Edward St in Wakefield.
Nelson Tasman Defence Group controller Roger Ball said anybody evacuating should take essentials like food, water, clothing, medicine and pets.
Those self-evacuating were advised by Fire and Emergency New Zealand to secure their homes to prevent ember entry.
That meant taking all flammable items like outdoor furniture inside.
"The threat to your house will be embers. Think about where an ember might light."
