Firefighters were sent to a vegetation fire on the edge of Bottle Lake in north-east Christchurch on Thursday evening, RNZ reports.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it received several calls at around 8.30pm local time. Three fire engines, two water tankers and a rural pump attended, and the first crew to arrive said the fire was about the size of a bus. The service said the blaze may have begun on the beach and was not near any buildings.
Fire and Emergency and Civil Defence had warned Christchurch City Council earlier this year that Bottle Lake Forest Park posed a fire risk. At an August meeting, Canterbury district commander Dave Stackhouse said an evacuation plan existed but that strong Canterbury winds could make a fire there spread quickly and be hard to contain.
Source: RNZ
