South Island fire ban lifted

Fire chiefs have lifted the total fire ban in areas of Canterbury, North Otago and Canterbury, after a series of rural fires were brought under control.

National rural fire officer Murray Dudfield said the ban had been lifted at midday today after an in-depth assessment.

"After having a look at a number of factors, including weather forecasts, we decided the risk had declined sufficiently to lift the ban," he said.

In the worst incident, an out-of-control gorse burn-off at Coopers Creek near Oxford on Wednesday destroyed an estimated 18ha of pine, farmland and scrub, and fire officers had to be pulled out for their own safety.

The 24-hour ban, the earliest for two decades, involved areas throughout the Waitaki, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes District Councils and DOC reserves in those areas.

Firefighters yesterday were kept busy in those areas extinguishing blazes at Clyde, Macraes, Wanaka and Tarras caused by burn-offs reigniting.

- NZPA