WALL OF FIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 182, 22 October 1927, Page 1

WALL OF FIRE

Sparks from Blazing Hotel Ignite Canterbury Pine Forest

FOUR HOURS FIGHT WITH FLAMES

(Special to THE SUN) CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. rE fire which destroyed Jollie’s Pass Hotel, near Hanmer, in the early hours of this morning, spread to the State Forest s plantation and fanned by a terriffic gale threatened destruction to hundreds of acres of trees. After a desperate fight of four hours, 60 men succeeded in subduing the flames. The fire-fighters are still standing by in case of further outbreaks.

THE destruction ot Jollie’s Pass A Hotel removed one of the oldest landmarks of the province. Parts of the hotel were over 60 years old. The fire was discovered at 3 a.m. by Miss Josephine Smith, daughter of the proprietor. A dozen persons in the building made a precipitate safe exit. Had the fire happened this evening, there would have been 40 guests in the hotel. The fire had a good hold when it was discovered, and a terrific gale made it impossible to save the building, which burned fiercely to the ground. Nothing was saved but a few clothes which the gale scattered before it. The building and contents were insured for £3,160, but the proprietor is a heavy loser. His loss is made worse by the fact that the hotel was very popular in summer. A spark blown by the gale set alight the undergrowth of the State forest pine plantations, half a mile away. The trees were 10 or 12 years old. Over 60 men worked to beat back the wall of fire by backburning, and with shovels ot earth and chemicals. After four hours of desperate fighting, a sharp downpour lightened the task of the workers. It was not until 11 a.m., however, that the fire was under control. About fifty acres of mixed pine and larch were destroyed. By 12.30 p.m. the fire was almost out, but the men are standing by in case of further outbreaks, which are not unlikely, as the gale is still blowing. WELL-KNOWN RESORT Situated high up in the mountains, a few miles from Hanmer Springs,

Jollie’s Pass Hotel was a popular resort of visitors from Christchurch and the surrounding districts. In the old days it,was the last call by people who took the track from North Canterbury through to Marlborough and Nelson. The road is not used very much nowadays, except by holiday-makers, and musterers and shearers going to sheep stations in the mountains. The hotel was a delightful old building, with a great stretch of wooded country behind it and the Government plantations stretching in billowing green miles in front. The hotel was the only one in many miles of country.