A woolshed on Francis Line, East Taratahi, burned down. PHOTO/GRACE PRIOR
Woolshed burns to ground
TOM TAYLOR
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A large woolshed in East Taratahi burned to the ground in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Crews from Carterton, Masterton, and Greytown fire stations attended the blaze from 1.30am to 7am.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the cause of the fire was not deemed suspicious.
Tinder dry conditions kept firefighters busy elsewhere on the second day of the region’s total fire ban.
A grass fire in Tuturumuri, South Wairarapa, on Wednesday afternoon spread across an area of about 100m by 40m.
No properties were threatened by the fire, and firefighters were checking for hotspots at 4pm.
Crews continued to monitor a large scrub fire that had engulfed an area close to Cape Palliser Rd on Monday night.
By 2pm on Tuesday, 90 per cent of the fire had been contained, however the Ngawi Voluntary Rural Fire Force remained overnight to monitor the situation.
Crews had returned on Wednesday to continue observing the state of the area.
“We’ve been there all day just dampening down hotspots and making sure everything is safe,” a spokesperson said.
The crews had left for the day by 4pm on Wednesday but would respond sporadically throughout the night and return yesterday morning.
Although witnesses had accused campers at Cape Palliser of “doing a sloppy job” of putting out their fire, the spokesperson said that to their knowledge, no investigation had yet been requested.
A total fire ban came into effect on Tuesday morning as extremely dry conditions increased the risk of further fires in Wairarapa.
