Barn and house fire in the Queenstown-Lakes District extinguished

Saturday, 26 January 2019

Fire crews have extinguished a hay barn and house fire after battling the blaze for just over two hours in the Queenstown-Lakes District.

Emergency services were called to the fire on Rata Rd in the small township of Makarora at about 4.20pm on Saturday. 

Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman Andrew Norris said the blaze was found in a hay barn and had spread to a nearby home just before 6pm.

The fire was extinguished shortly after 7pm . 

He said crews from Lake Hawea, Luggate, Makarora and Wanaka were sent to battle the fire.  

No one had been injured in the blaze.

Norris said fire crews also attended a large hedge fire in Tinwald just south of Ashburton.

He said three engines, five tankers and a command unit had been sent to the blaze on Fords Rd just before 3.30pm.

The hedge, which was about 4 metres high and 70 metres long, was completely ablaze and another hedge about 100 metres south of it had also caught fire. It was extinguished at about 6.40pm. 

No one had been injured in the blaze, Norris said.