Nelson Bush Fires; Too Close For Comfort

[nuuumannn]

Hi Guys, over the past week there has been a spate of bush fires in the local area, one of which has been burning firecely for over a week now. Yesterday things got a little close for comfort as the hills near my place caught fire and threatened to spread into the city itself. Being less than a kilometre away, on the other side of the hill from where I live, our neighbours advised us that we should pack in case of evacuation, which lead to a lot of people getting into their cars and escaping.

Not me; it was the perfect opportunity to photograph aircraft! So after packing stuff up and piling it into my lounge for a quick escape if need be, I grabbed my camera and photographed the multitude of helicopters and aeroplanes buzzing about putting out the fire from across the road. After an hour I moved to a location closer to where the fire was burning for a better view; I had to go on foot owing to a cordon on the roads. Little did I know that a fire would spring up a few hundred metres from where I was standing! Here are some images that I took yesterday, and a link to a lot more.

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The view from my porch. The fires were burning fiercely on the other side of the hill and were moving at a frightful rate.

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At extreme range, I caught this Cresco top-dressing aircraft doing powder drops on the fire.

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It was joined by this Air Tractor.

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This fire flared up very close to houses. It took helo crews nearly two hours to extinguish.

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I was very close by and could feel the heat!

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Helos were scooping directly from the sea and hitting the blaze.

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Link to more images: Nelson Bush Fires

 

[Wurger]

Great shots.

 

[Airframes]

Heck !
I hope they get it under control.
Great shots grant - you could fund half an overseas trip with those, selling to the local media and agencies.

 

[mikewint]

Indeed as above, great pics. News reports that I see indicate that this is the biggest air firefight in New Zealand history:
A massive fire near tinder-dry Nelson has been burning since Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach up to 50kmh on Sunday, which could heighten the fire danger.
* Residents in the Wai-iti area have been told to prepare to evacuate. More than 2600 people have been evacuated from their homes so far.
* The fire covers about 2100 hectares. It's "almost certain" the fire was caused by agriculture machinery. A second fire broke out in Nelson City on Friday, but was under control after a few hours.
* At least one house near Nelson has been lost.

 

[at6]

Hopes and prayers for your safety and the fires being snuffed. Great shots.

 

[GrauGeist]

Great photos but at a cost

Stay safe Grant and I hope that you and your neighbors make it through without loss. I know all too well how these wildfires can get out of control...

 

[Gnomey]

Stay safe!

Good shots!

 

[parsifal]

Similar but worse than the fires near my backyard last year. . We have had heat wave after heat wave in Oz. Really bad fires in Tassie, not too bad elsewhere. Bigger problem for us have been those massive floods in Nth Queensland.


You have my sympathies. All I can say is stay safe.

For the record, they are very good shots. .

 

[nuuumannn]

Thanks guys for your wishes. Very much appreciated. I have been away over the weekend and have come back, the fires on the hill having not flared up again, thankfully. As a precaution I packed some essentials into my car in case they did!

A big problem with the fire out on the hills is animals and livestock that has been evacuated, some of which have had to be exterminated in the face of the fire, which is sad. I volunteer at the local SPCA and we were meant to go help with shepherding animals at a holding point on Friday when the fires happened, so I didn't get to go because of the threat of evacuating myself. I'm about to find out if I'm needed for animal work...

 

[wuzak]

Hope you get some rain to help.

We've had some rain today and late last week, which has helped controlling the fires.

I live in the city, so well away from any of the fires in Tassie. But the smoke from the fires did reach here, hanging over the city and mountain.

 

[gumbyk]

We've got a spare bed here if you get evacuated...

 

[Airframes]

Glad to hear you're OK Grant. Keeping my fingers crossed that the fires are sorted very soon.

 

[Torch]

When we had the Hayman fires in Colorado we found a quick way to grab alot of things by taking a good blanket, throwing clothes etc in it and with 2 people holding the ends you can move fast and get them to your vehicle. Also ended up by buying a very good fire proof safe for personal stuff.

 

[GrauGeist]

When selecting a fireproof safe, be sure to read the specs closely and research the best location for placement.

Max. temps and resistance duration at peak temps is important - many safes (both personal safes and gunsafes) failed during our recent Camp and Carr fires because of the intensity of the fires.

 

[at6]

Thanks guys for your wishes. Very much appreciated. I have been away over the weekend and have come back, the fires on the hill having not flared up again, thankfully. As a precaution I packed some essentials into my car in case they did!

A big problem with the fire out on the hills is animals and livestock that has been evacuated, some of which have had to be exterminated in the face of the fire, which is sad. I volunteer at the local SPCA and we were meant to go help with shepherding animals at a holding point on Friday when the fires happened, so I didn't get to go because of the threat of evacuating myself. I'm about to find out if I'm needed for animal work...

Sad to hear that some of animals had to be killed. I'm a volunteer with a no kill shelter here.

 

[Gnomey]

Glad to hear your ok Grant!

 

[nuuumannn]

Thanks again guys and your support is much appreciated. Aaron, thank you. At this stage it's not necessary, but thank you very much. The bushfires have subsided for the time being and the word is that the residents in the worst affected areas have been given permission to go home, which is great news for them. This means that the fires have been put out on the hills to the south of the city, and now fire crews are heading through the area dampening it down. Farmers have been told they can't yet get back to work, so sadly the rural communities have a lot more work to do yet.

I was at the SPCA today and we have boarding dogs whose owners can't look after them. At present we don't have that many dogs, which is good, thankfully. The livestock situation is still going on, and I haven't had to go there, although I've offered if they need help.

 

[fubar57]

Scary stuff. Hope you and everyone stays safe

 

[Torch]

When selecting a fireproof safe, be sure to read the specs closely and research the best location for placement.

Max. temps and resistance duration at peak temps is important - many safes (both personal safes and gunsafes) failed during our recent Camp and Carr fires because of the intensity of the fires.

Agree, alot of safes look good but their heat ratings and amount of time they can withstand the heat are very important.Things like external hinges don't help and I'm not a fan of battery operated combo locks.

 

[GrauGeist]

Agree, alot of safes look good but their heat ratings and amount of time they can withstand the heat are very important.Things like external hinges don't help and I'm not a fan of battery operated combo locks.

Fully agree.
I have a safe that is accessed either by combination or key, no electronic gizmos.