Rural fire crews quickly contained two small vegetation fires near Lauder and Patearoa on Wednesday (January 14), with no injuries reported and no buildings threatened. 

Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Alex Norris said the first fire, reported near Lauder a little after 10.45am, involved a small area of grass measuring approximately 20 metres by five metres.

“There was no danger to any structures, and crews were able to contain it pretty quickly,” he said.

Crews were initially dispatched from Alexandra, Dunstan, Omakau and Blackstone after early reports suggested a nearby structure could be at risk. 

However, once crews arrived on scene, that risk was ruled out and some responding appliances were stood down.

The fire was fully extinguished within 20 minutes.

"So not a big job in the end," Alex said.

Later in the day, crews were called to a second grass fire near Patearoa.

Alex said crews from Ranfurly attended the incident, with a mix of appliances including a fire engine, a rural fire truck, a tanker and a support vehicle.

On arrival, crews encountered a fire covering approximately 200 square metres.

“Within about 45 minutes, they managed to get the fire extinguished,” he said.

Crews remained on site for a further 15 minutes to damped hotspots before leaving the scene.

Alex said Fire and Emergency New Zealand had not seen a significant increase in fire activity in Central Otago recently.

“Our focus over the last week really was around Canterbury, with high wind and hot weather,” he said.

Alex said the Lauder fire was believed to have started during a burn-off, while the Patearoa fire was thought to have been sparked by a tractor mower.

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