BIG BUSH FIRES.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 January 1921, Page 6

BIG BUSH FIRES.

FARMERS’ HEAVY LOSSES. PEOPLE FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES. \ During the epidemic of recent bush and grass fires, considerable damage was done to farming but in no case was the damage so serious as in the Rangiwahia (Hunterville) district. Reports received show that considerable devastation was caused to the farming community of the Main South Road on Saturday morning. A heavy gale was raging, and a smouldering fire spread with lightning-like velocity, causing people to flee in all directions for their lives. So great was the heat owing to the dry state of everything, that many people at Apiti, seeing the large cloud of smoke, and knowing the calamitous predicament the Main South Road was in, volunteered in full force to render assistance, and did excellent work. Farmers not only suffered the loss of grass, but also of buildings, fences, woolsheds, cowsheds, hay, wool, and sheep. Messrs Thompson Bros, and S. Stent had a very trying experience. Hemmed in by fire and smoke, and having no chance of escape, they were on the verge of being burnt to death, when a lucky downpour of rain gladdened their hearts and extinguished the fires. They then proceeded to Mrs. Stokes’s in an exhausted condition, their own homes being impossible to reach. Many willing hands are now busily engaged where urgent assistance is required.