Fight against Lake Wakatipu bush fire continues as wind expected to strengthen

The fight against a huge vegetation fire on the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu is continuing as forecast winds look to make things challenging.The blaze, which has been burning since Tuesday morning, was not contained or controlled when firefighters suspended operations on Tuesday night.Assistant District Commander Nic McQuillan said strong nor-westerly winds were fuelling the fire, which had escalated in the McKinlays Creek area."There are areas where the fire will burn itself out, but we are expecting it to still be going quite strongly first thing in the morning," he said on Tuesday night.The fire at Lake Wakatipu as seen on Wednesday morning.SUPPLIEDThe geography of McKinlays Creek was a ravine, causing it to act like a chimney, funnelling wind and fire upwards, making it difficult for firefighters to access the area, he said."So the wind funnels up it and draws the fire with it - essentially the smoke and the fire is drawn up the valley and out the top of the mountains, which makes it very hot and impressive in terms of what we're seeing."Helicopter operations have been hindered by the amount of smoke being generated and the fact that the McKinlays Creek area is acting like a chimney, which means that we can only get into the bottom part of it."Helicopter operations began at 7am on Wednesday and ground operations were due to start at 7.30am, McQuillan said.The fire on Tuesday.FENZ"Conditions on the fireground are benign at the moment but are expected to become more challenging during the morning as the wind is forecast to strengthen."McQuillan said Fire and Emergency NZ aimed to have a more detailed update by 9am on Wednesday.Queenstown's mayor John Glover said the blaze was "confronting"."It's very large, very visible, and the fact that we haven't been able to contain it is top of mind for everyone involved in the response."Glover said it was normal for high country stations in the area to have burns this time of year to renew land for Spring - but these could get out of control."It's a real stark reminder of the fact that our hillsides can be dry and if we get a wild fire it can spread quite easily."Glover understood the historic Walter Peak homestead had not been damaged, which he was relieved about.He advised locals to keep boats away from the area, which was across the lake from the central city.As the day goes on, Glover said he hoped for rain.