Nelson farmer describes smoke 'so intense' it sent wild animals running

February 7, 2019

Stewart Mitchell said the smoke was so intense it sent animals running from the fire.

A Nelson farmer knew it was time to take action after he saw rabbits and hares running to escape the smoke from the deadly wildfires that struck the region on Tuesday.

Stewart Mitchell said the fire just "took off" and yesterday morning as he was out moving stock on his farm, he saw the "unbelievable" sight of wild animals running for safety.

"Hares and rabbits, some of the wildlife that we’ve got, the stock seemed really happy to be moved to a safer place out of the smoke," he recalls.

The Prime Minister says she is sure that “everything that can be done is being done.”

"It was really intense you could probably only see about ten or fifteen yards in front of you,” he said.

Consequently, Mr Mitchell yesterday loaded a dozen of his horses and headed to the Richmond A & P showgrounds which is open for evacuated stock.

“It was really concerning that we were getting so much smoke coming our way,” he said.

He said it was wonderful the horses had a nice safe spot away from the fire.

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