Several crews battle fire at Jacks Pt

Fire crews, including three helicopters with monsoon buckets, were needed to fight a large grass fire at Jacks Point, near Queenstown,  last night.

Volunteer fire crews from Queenstown, Kingston, Arrowtown and Frankton all attended the blaze which started in an area called The Preserve, at the southern end of the Jacks Point subdivision and golf course, near Lake Wakatipu, just before 6.45pm. Fire and Emergency New Zealand southern shift manager Daryl Ball said the fire was largely under control by about 8pm and most of the fire crews and the three helicopters were stood down.

The fire was contained to an area about 100m by 100m, he said.

Rural fire crews stayed at the scene for an additional hour to dampen down any hotspots. The cause of blaze was not known.

• Earlier yesterday, six volunteer fire crews and three helicopters were called to extinguish a fire in the red zone in Queenstown. Fire crews from Arrowtown, Frankton, Queenstown and Glenorchy — as well as helicopters with monsoon buckets — were initially called to attend the fire in the forestry area above the former Wakatipu High School site in Gorge Rd about 4.30pm.

The fire, over a 50m by 30m area,   took about 20 minutes to contain, a fire communication spokesman said.

The red zone encompasses a large, high-risk area of urban and rural land from just north of Bobs Cove to south of Arthurs Point.

That area is subject to a year-round fire ban.