A large fire destroyed multiple buildings and farm machinery near Lincoln. Photo / George Heard
A fire that started in a hedge and was fanned by strong winds has claimed two cars and a tractor and came within metres of a farmhouse.
Eight fire appliances and crews were called to the blaze on a lifestyle block at Lincoln on the outskirts of Christchurch.
Lincoln Chief Fire Officer Jeremy Greenwood said it started in a macrocarpa hedge and quickly spread to the farm buildings and was threatening the house.
"We managed to stop it spreading to the house," said Greenwood
"We saved the house".
The fire was stopped two metres from the home, blistering the paint on the outside.
Greenwood said the owner was "happy the house was saved".
"He was pretty stoked, pretty happy"
Two farm sheds alongside the hedge were destroyed along with two vehicles and a tractor.
Greenwood said the macrocarpa hedge was "like a can of petrol".
Firefighters had the fire under control within an hour and spent four hours at the scene.
Greenwood warned that with the strong winds it doesn't take much for any rubbish fire to flare up and spread.
'You don’t want to be doom and gloom your whole life. That's just a miserable way to live'