Dome Valley Warkworth Fire

[Deano]

2nd fire in a week up this part of the country.
Very dry conditions.

Helicopters with monsoon buckets are racing to stop a growing bushfire threatening a large pine forrest in Dome Valley, 10km north of Warkworth.

Four helicopters have been sent to fight the blaze, which has already burned through at least 72ha of scrubland next to a commercial forest.

Fire Service northern communications spokesman Scott Marchant said the helicopters would drop fire retardant to create a barrier between the fire and the pine forest in an attempt to stop its spread.

Incident Controller Bryan Cartelle says with the sun at its peak around now, crews are making sure the inferno doesn't get a second burst of life.
Full story NZHerald

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[Suezy]

They are real scarey things Deano as we have had a few down here at West Melton way plus Shands Road way where one house was lost.  Those helli's do a fantastic job and they dump the water on the houses to save them and tend not to worry about the paddocks till they have the houses saved.  People now release the stock too to let them onto the roadway so they have a good chance of survival.  Hope we don't see any more this way but it is just so so dry here and if we have a howling norwester it goes like a rocket.