Strong winds fuelled blazes, destroyed buildings and flipped a truck in the Mid Canterbury foothills on Wednesday last week.
Alford Forest Volunteer Fire Brigade had five callouts in two hours.
Chief Earl McSweeney said it was one of the brigade’s busiest ever periods.
The main callout was to a farm beside Taylors Stream, where a fire starting from a burn-off pile destroyed a derelict house.
‘‘The house had gone by the time we got there, it wasn’t salvageable,’’ he said.
Then the blaze got into the stream bed. Firefighters extinguished several spot fires over a 200m by 50m area, eventually helped by the wind dying down and rain.
Alford Forest also assisted Methven firefighters at a vehicle crash on Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd at the Taylors Stream bridge. A small truck was flipped about 1pm by the wind, and hit by a car.
Methven deputy chief Dave McLeod said firefighters took about half an hour to free the truck driver’s legs, which were trapped around the steering column. They had to use equipment to cut the chassis, steering wheel and part of the cab.
He was conscious throughout the ordeal but in good spirits. Hato Hone St John said one patient was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital in a moderate condition.
Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Jeff Marshall said firefighters extinguished tree stumps on fire at Montalto, before being called to a fire at Mayfield Valetta Road about 2.30pm.
About 120m of pine and blue gum trees were on fire, but in the wind firefighters could not get close enough to put it out.
‘‘I was concerned about limbs coming off the trees and all the trees blowing over, I didn’t want to put my crews into that,’’ Marshall said.
The wind blew water from the fire hoses away. Helped by other crews including Mayfield and Mt Somers, the firefighters instead focused on protecting a nearby wool shed and implement shed, as well as extinguishing a secondary fire in smaller trees and a hedge across the road.
As the wind died down and it started to rain, firefighters could get closer to the line of trees and extinguish that blaze as well.
About 5pm State Highway 77 near Mt Hutt closed after a farm building blew over and scattered debris along the road. Contractors on site for New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi closed the highway between Mount Hutt Station Rd and Leaches Rd, after emergency services were earlier called to the site.
And across the other side of the Rakaia River, a huge logistical operation was under way fighting a blaze at Southbridge. A pine plantation, two sheds and classic car collection were lost in the blaze, believed to have started about 3pm from burnoff of piles of cleared trees on a neighbour’s property.
Rakaia Volunteer Fire Brigade had units from other brigades assisting, including Pendarves, Lauriston, Ashburton, Southbridge and Dunsandel.
Under the direction of officer in charge, deputy Rakaia chief Fred Clarkson, dozens of firefighters battled flames in the strong winds.
The size of the blaze necessitated a FENZ command unit from Timaru, whereupon a FENZ executive took over from Clarkson, who became operations manager.
Chief Tyrone Burrowes said it was the biggest fire the brigade had attended in about 10 years.
