The light display caused a fire to start in the area and scorched a hillTony Malkin set off fireworks at his retreat near Queenstown in New ZealandAn American billionaire's controversial New Year's Eve fireworks has started a bushfire in a rural area of New Zealand following protests from locals against his festive plans. Tony Malkin, chief executive of Empire State Realty Trust, which owns the landmark, was hosting a party at his luxury hilltop retreat in Dalefield, a rural area on the outskirts of Queenstown. Firefighters were called to Mr Malkin's property just 10 minutes later and spent several hours putting out the blaze. Mr Malkin has not apologised for going ahead with the fireworks or publicly acknowledged the fire. Mr Malkin's office did not respond to requests for comment before New Year's Eve.

Source: Stuff January 02, 2023 07:57 UTC