A farmer who lost more than 60 sheep to the massive scrub fire rampaging north of Nelson has spoken about the horror of putting down burned animals. But on Tuesday night, when hot south-west winds fanned a scrub fire started in Pigeon Valley to the south, the fire ripped into Redwood Valley. With the help of firefighters, police officers, and mates, they managed to get the livestock out of the danger zone and back down to his Greenacres Rd property – where he'd been evacuated earlier. He has 14 home alive and recovering, but says more might yet have to be euthanised from burn injuries. German said it was "an accident waiting to happen", with so much dry grass around.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 07, 2019 03:11 UTC