Six fire 'hot spots' dampened

A fire crew on the ground and a helicopter in the air yesterday dampened six ‘‘hot spots'' after a scrub fire at Woodside, near Outram.  Central Otago Acting Principal Fire Officer Pete Scarlet, of Otago Rural Fire Authority, said a Wakari rural fire crew and a Helicopters Otago crew used water and foam to dampen hot spots.

Mr Scarlet said 7mm of rain on Sunday night helped ‘‘considerably'' to control the fire, which burnt 29ha of scrub.

Firefighters monitored the area last night and the weather would dictate if crews needed to return today, he said.

‘‘If they get some rain, they may be able to leave it.''

Farmer Michael Harrex said he had completed a burn-off five weeks ago and believed an ember fanned by high winds might have ignited nearby gorse about 7am on Sunday.

However, Mr Scarlet said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the blaze.

shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz