Possible bill for starting Tiwai fire 

A spraying contractor could face a $200,000 firefighting bill after a massive scrub fire near Tiwai in Southland at the weekend.

Nearly 1000 hectares of Department of Conservation land were destroyed in the blaze which started about 4pm on Friday and was not brought under control until late Saturday.

The cause of the fire is being investigated but it was known that it had started near a tractor belong to the spraying contractor who was carrying out restoration work, Southern Rural Fire deputy principal rural fire officer Elton Smith says.

"At this stage, what has actually caused the ignition has not been determined."

He says it was not known how long that investigation would take but the bill was likely to be between $100,000 and $200,000.

Southern Rural Fire District rural fire officer Sue Peterson said the contractor was likely to be liable for the bill.

DOC Murihiku area manager Dave Taylor says the fire was a tragedy because the land was being restored to a natural condition by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters which leased the land.

NZAS had been carrying out pest control and regeneration work, and the fire would set back that effort, Taylor says.

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