SERIOUS FLAX FIRE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1343, 5 January 1915, Page 2

SERIOUS FLAX FIRE.

LA ROE ARK A IiI'RNT. j A serious lire occurred in the i flax area near Moutoa on Sunday, resulting in several hundred acres of green leaf being destroyed. The origin of the outbreak is not known. The lire started in Whitaunui, Ltd.’s block, from which the mill is at present being supplied and in which the flaxcutters were working on Saturday. The lire was first noticed on Sunday morning and a gang of men was immediately got together to endeavour to check the outbreak. A brisk easterly wind was blowing at the time and this fanned the flames and the fire soon assumed alarming proportions, spreading into what is known as the Maitai block, on Mr Akers' property. Shortly after mid-day on Sunday an area of some hundreds of acres was a roaring mass of flames and smoke and the intense heat made the work of the large body of fire-fighters much harder. At this time there were about 2uu men engaged iu fighting the flames. They worked desperately all the afternoon and it was not until about midnight that they succeeded iu getting the outbreak in hand. The, damage done was very extensive, the fire covering about 500 acres of flax land. About lOu acres, the property of Whitaunui, Limited,' was burned, on which there was about 700 tons of mLiable flax and the balance was one, two and three year old leal, which]} would have been ready for cutting from next season onwards. The flax cut on Saturday and stacked in the swamp ready for tramming to the mill was also destroyed. On Mr Akers’ property the fire covered about 400 acres, the flax on which was one, two and three years old, and would have been fit for milling next season and the seasons following. A few acres belonging to the Poplar Flaxmilling- Co., Ltd,, was also burned. At present it is very hard to estimate the extent of the damage but it is very considerable.