Tiwai fire: Department of Conservation fears for land

The blaze on the Tiwai Peninsula, which came within metres of threatening the Smelter's power lines, has been contained but significant conservation land remains at risk. Elton Smith, the principal Rural Fire Officer for Southland was the incident commander overnight. He told Morning Report earlier that the conditions were pretty intense through the night, and access for crews was fairly difficult early on. Flames got really close to the power lines running in to the smelter. Overall about 130 hectares have been burning - a lot of it land with high conservation values. Tony Preston is the Murihiku Operations Manager for the Department of Conservation and joins Susie Ferguson with the details.