An Ocean View couple thought their home was about to be engulfed as a scrub fire encroached on their section on Saturday.
A fire that moved quickly through sand dunes spread to within a few metres of the Brighton Rd property of Michelle Ferris and her partner, Chris Duggan. Ms Ferris said that when she first noticed the fire about 2.50pm, she thought there was a 50:50 chance the house, which they had moved into two weeks ago, would be engulfed.
"The next-door neighbour’s dog barked and then I looked up and saw the smoke, and then I was like ‘oh my God’.
"I was quite worried. I had just put a container of fuel in the garage out in the back yard," she said.
In the time between when she called the Fire Service and when the first appliance arrived, the fire had grown to the point where it was also threatening neighbouring properties. At least six firefighters were working in her backyard at the peak of the blaze. Onlookers watched from the beach and the road as the fire raged for more than an hour. Neighbouring homes were quickly evacuated.
Otago Rural Fire Authority operations manager Graeme Still said about six houses in Brighton Rd were threatened by the fire, which burnt through about 300sq m of scrub and tussock. It was "a bit dicey" for a little while and the fire was about 20m away from engulfing the closest homes, Mr Still said. Eight appliances and three helicopters were called in to fight the blaze.
There was a drone flying around close to the fire 15 minutes before the helicopters arrived, which could have frustrated attempts to put the fire out. The drone operator was found before helicopters arrived but if the drone had been in the air longer, it could have prevented the helicopters from flying.
Mr Still was full of praise for the Brighton Volunteer Fire Brigade, which was first on the scene and helped ensure the fire did not reach neighbouring homes. The main road to Brighton was blocked off while firefighters battled the blaze. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, he said yesterday.
Investigators spent time at the scene yesterday morning and would return today.
"We have got a few avenues we need to look at, but at the moment it’s still unknown," he said.
Firefighters had not attributed the blaze to fireworks.
"We haven’t ruled it out, but we haven’t ruled anything out. We aren’t discounting anything," Mr Still said.
He hoped investigators would be able to determine the cause soon.
