Firefighters have issued another round of warnings about fire risk after two grass fires in the Lauder district yesterday.
About 30 firefighters from four brigades and a helicopter fought a grass fire on State Highway 85, near the corner of Muddy Creek Rd, between Omakau and Lauder.
The fire, which started at about 5.40pm, was caused by direct drilling, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) rural fire officer Mark Hutton said.
Appliances from Alexandra, Blackstone, Dunstan and Omakau brigades attended and police were called, as smoke was going across the state highway.
An earlier fire on Lauder Flat Rd, about 3.10pm, was caused by a mowing operation, Mr Hutton said.
An Omakau appliance and Dunstan rural water tanker were called to the fire, which covered about 10sq m, but it was out by the time they arrived, a Fenz spokesman said. Firefighters dampened down the area.
The fires illustrated the importance of avoiding operations during extreme heat that might produce sparks and start fires, Mr Hutton said.
``It reinforces that these kinds of operations should not be conducted in the heat of the day. They need to be done as early in the morning as possible.''
