NZ forest fire forces 100 homes evacuated
About 150 properties have been evacuated in the Tasman District as a fire rages out of control near Nelson.
The blaze has been declared a Civil Defence emergency.
"This was extreme fire behaviour, there was no way we could stop this fire," a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said.
Here's the evolution of long term dryness from the New Zealand Drought Index since New Year's.
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) February 5, 2019
There is now extreme dryness in the Nelson & Tasman regions, which has allowed for 'fuel' (dry vegetation) for the #Nelson area fire.
~Chris pic.twitter.com/YEJE6kVeib
Although the fire was still out of control this morning, fire crews are hoping for a wind change from southerly yesterday to northerly today, which would help slow the spread of the fire.
Officials said 12 crews fought the blaze overnight and there have been no reports of injury or death.
Updates to the situation will be posted on the Tasman Marlborough Fire Area Facebook page.
