Warm and windy conditions helped to fan a fire in rural Otago over the weekend, spreading it five times faster than normal.
The fire started at the edge of Te Papanui Conservation Park near Middlemarch on Saturday, burning through more than 4600 hectares of grassland.
Ten helicopters with monsoon buckets and four ground crews tackled the blaze, which has now been contained.
Fire and Emergency's principal rural fire officer for Otago, Graeme Still, speaks to Corin Dann.
