Attention has now been turned to the threat of flooding in Dunedin, after a large fire forced 100 residents to be evacuated.
A massive fire that has torn through the industrial suburb of Burnside in Dunedin has destroyed livelihoods but residents have just been told they can go home.
The fire, which started as a small vegetation fire about 4.45pm yesterday, covered more than 20ha. At least 100 homes were evacuated and three industrial buildings were destroyed.
Evacuated residents gave emergency services a round of applause at a briefing this morning. They have been told they can go home but warned the smell of smoke would linger.
Evacuated residents gather for a Fire and Emergency briefing at the St Clair Golf Course this morning. Photo / Michael Sergel
Incident controller Phil Marsh said heavy rain and the endless work the crews have been doing overnight means the fire is now contained, and it is safe for residents to return home and for local schools to open.
Specialist crews would continue work this morning to ensure there are no flare-ups. The fire is expected to take several days to mop up.
"The majority of residents were very happy with the response that we've given," Marsh said.
"It's been extreme weather conditions and we've been working really, really hard, so I'm so proud of Fire and Emergency staff and all the other organisations that assisted that have made this as much of a success as it has been.
"Although we feel for the people who have lost industrial buildings, it could have been so much worse and we feel it's been a really good response."
The fire started as a small vegetation fire in Burnside about 4.45pm yesterday. Photo / Olivia Franklin
Two fire investigators will start work at the scene today to determine the cause of the blaze.
Peter Chalmers, who owns the Valley Lumber yard on McLeods Rd, estimated he had lost $250,000-$300,000 worth of stock and his livelihood for the winter after up to 1000 tonnes of dry wood went up in flames.
He said it only took 15 minutes from a puff of smoke to spread to two fires in his "tinder dry" yard.
"The speed of it was just frightening.
"We were running around with fire extinguishers and buckets of water but it overwhelmed us. Little flames turned to 10m high," he said.
He said he would assess the damage when he was allowed back on the property.
"I think the whole lot will be gone."
At the height of the fire, six helicopters, 25 crews and about 100 personnel were fighting it. Photo / Olivia Franklin
But it was not just his business, Chalmers told Radio NZ.
"There's industrial buildings on fire. There's a truck repair firm, I'd say they're wiped out," he said.
"There's drums of volatiles exploding at the truck repair firm. There's a lot of buildings there with storage and everything but, I'd say, it's a total loss."
At the height of the fire, six helicopters, 25 crews and about 100 firefighters were battling it.
A huge blaze in Burnside, Dunedin, spread between 20 and 25ha of vegetation and forced the evacuation of about 100 homes. Photo / Taichi Nakamura
Marsh said six ground crews worked throughout the night and the fire had been contained.
About 8mm of rain has fallen since midnight, which has helped crews enormously.
"The rain has been fantastic, but it's a double-edged sword because we're expecting over 50mm of rainfall in Dunedin today, so we are probably planning for flooding in the area.
"We're going one extreme to another."
Area commander Craig Geddes said the situation could have been much worse.
Late last night Marsh said the spike in temperatures and low humidity had caused extreme fire conditions.
In the days before the fire, the area had faced gusty northwest winds, drought-like conditions and 34C temperatures.
The fire burning on a hill behind the old Burnside freezing works. Photo / Mike Houlahan
"We've been putting warnings out, most of last week and this week, about the spike in temperatures and the lowering of humidity we've been experiencing. It's out of the ordinary; these are extreme fire conditions," he said.
He praised the work of urban and rural firefighters and volunteers, who together mounted a swift response.
"A lot of people have worked very hard to come up with the best response we can."
Dunedin's Southern Motorway had also been closed because of the fire but reopened late last night with a 30km speed limit in place.
