BIG FIRE ON MT. VICTORIA

Chronicle (Levin), 12 February 1947, Page 7

BIG FIRE ON MT. VICTORIA

WELLINGTON, Feb. 11. The most damaging bush lire to strike Wellington for many years swexit a large plantation 011 Mount Victoria today. All avaiiaule machines, lircmcn, voluntary workers and poiice were cailed in to light the lire. Fanned by a fresli southerly wind tlie flanies roared upward in two areas and heavv proxjerty damage was feared. Big' plantations of 20 .year old pine and ornamental eucalypt-us trees. were left as biackened stuuixik after the lire had passexi. Roliing clouds of brown snioke obscured the sun in the business area of the city. bhoriiy after noon; started by causcs unknown, a lire in. a/guny below Ewarl Hosi>ital endangercd both tlie Ewart and Fever Hospital. Tne flanies licked to vvithin 10 feet of Ewart Hosx>ital and about a similar nupijier, of yards of the Nurses' Homes seefiioii of the Fever Hospital. . : ' ' A firc of similar' "proportion, though 110 1 so dangero..s to x^'uxmrly, starting at the same timo froui a rubbish lire in Hataitai Parn, s\«ex>t up the liill through gorse, x'inos and gum treiis, ieaving a comxfletely blackeued and de vastated area behiiid it. Both lires started about the saxne time. With machines from Wellington busy on a house lire in Miramar, nurses and nosx>ital stalf from Ewart -Hospital battled against the flanies for 30 minutes before brigades arrived. V.A.l). 's and Red Cross workers were calied out wlien the Fever Hosx>ital above Wel lington Public Hospital was thought to be in danger. Wlien it was fouud thai tliey would not be required to ovacuate XJatients they turncd their energies Lo Ihe blaze with branehes of scrub and vvet sacks. They alded the lirenien in kceping the blaze under controi. Radio telexjhones were used by the briga.de to coordiuale the lire fighling over the widely spread danger areas. The water suxqjJy at the hosxntal was soon unable to cope with leaping, roar ing flanies and water was Ihen puinxieO through long lines of hoses from Con stable Street and the top of Austin Ter race, near Wellington East Girls' C01 lege. After a 90 minute struggle the flanies were checked and lires further down the western side of Ihe liill to the north d'ied out linally about 4 x>.in. Starting from a rubbish lire in 11a taitai Park flanies from the northern lire swept uxj tlie liill over a'triangular area enveloping Hataitai tunnel. In its course the lire stopped through traflic for a period. The tunnel acted as a chimney for .-onoke dri\en by the v.'ind from the surrounding burning areas. This smoke was so thick in the tunnel that it made driving imx>ossible. Leaping Alexander Road at the top of the liill Ihe lire spread nortli as far as the children 's pJay •ar(ja' oif Firie Street where it reached its iowest point 011 the western side of the liill. Sliortly before .1 p.ni. the iire had spread over t tio * liill to near the city approaeh to the traflic tunnel. , llere a concentration of lirenien and machines had been gathered to s'ave the heavily built up surrounding area had a lire spread further. By 6 o'cluck tonight' not muoh snioke could. be seen over the area.