Raetihi Forest Fire

Raetihi Forest fire was a great fire that occurred on the 19–20 March 1918 in and around the townships of Raetihi and Ohakune on the North Island of New Zealand.

The great fire itself was a major catastophe. It burned for two days devastating areas of forest and almost destroying the townships of Raetihi and Ohakune. Along with the great stands of Rimu and other large stands of podocarps in the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. 150 houses and nine sawmills were lost. Three people died as a result of the fire when their farmhouse was burned. There were reports that schools 100 kilometres away were closed and that the skies were darkened with the amount of smoke in the air.Fact|date=October 2007

It was generally thought but never confirmed that the forest was set alight by coals dropped from a railway engine from the newly developed North Island Main Trunk Railway.

References

* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/D/DisastersAndMishapsFires/TheRaetihiConflagration/en 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand]
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sooty/raetihi1918.html THE RAETIHI FIRE]