Dunedin fire: Update

Dozens of residents have been evacuated from their homes as firefighters battle a large fire in Burnside in Dunedin.

Three industrial buildings are ablaze near McLeods Road, and it has spread to nearby vegetation.

Six helicopters, 12 fire engines, three tankers and one command unit are at the scene and working to contain the fire.

Crews are also working to put out spot fires caused by embers being blown onto properties.

The police have been assisting Fire and Emergency to evacuate properties on Morton, Mary, Mulford, Winifred and Samson Streets as well as part of Main South Road.

The police have set up a welfare centre at the St Clair Golf Club for those who have been asked to leave their homes.

Civil Defence and Red Cross personnel will be there to help those residents who need it.

Part of the Dunedin Southern Motorway has also been closed to traffic.
Regional response coordinator Mike Grant is advising people to stay away from the area.

"Please don’t try to get into the area, with roads closed it will cause congestion for our firefighters and crews who are working as hard as they can to stop the fire spreading," he says.

"There’s embers that have carried in the wind, and they have been landing on nearby properties. We have a lot of firefighters reacting very quickly to this, and they’re working through these areas to put them out."

There have been several other fires in the Otago and Southland regions today as temperatures have reached a sweltering 30 degrees in some parts.

The scrub fire that broke out in Tahakopa Valley has now been extinguished, while four tankers and three crews remain at the Round Hill Road inland from Karitane.

Firefighters are urging people to be extremely vigilant in the extremely hot conditions, and avoid any activity that could potentially spark a fire.
ENDS

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