A thunderstorm battered the city yesterday morning, dismantling part of a roof at the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter and bringing down a power line in Kennington, which ignited a small patch of brush.
NZAS external relations New Zealand director Simon King said the damage to the roof at Tiwai was done early in the morning.
"The cladding on the roof of one of our pitch tanks was lifted and materials were blown off the roof onto land adjacent to the tank."
No staff were at risk at the time of the incident and there was no loss of containment, he said.
The area had been cordoned off and any damage would be assessed when it was safe to do so, Mr King said.
Emergency services were called to Mill Rd South about 3.15pm yesterday, where a downed power line remained live, causing a minor fire.
One fire truck and a tanker from Invercargill attended the scene.
Shift manager Alex Norris said a live wire came down across the road and caused a smouldering fire, which was quickly extinguished by the crew.
The fire crew then assisted the power authority in closing the road for a short period of time while the power was isolated and the scene was left in the hands of local contractors.
A PowerNet spokesperson said it was likely the line failed due to strong winds.
"It appears a line failed and contacted the ground, causing grass on the ground to catch on fire."
The circuit breaker protection operated at 3.24pm.
