Otago district Principal Rural Fire Officer Graeme Still said forecasts showed strong winds coming from the west in the coming days. With these winds coming through, what we are saying is to hang off until we get some better weather." The ban was both for people who had applied for permits, and those in areas with an open fire season. "The report of it was quite a big fire, which it was, but most of it was on the landowner’s property, so it didn’t burn the area that was portrayed. "We know that it was a controlled burn — we know that much."

Source: Otago Daily Times August 27, 2020 16:30 UTC