Despite the surveillance of the Mahina firefighters put in place until very late in the evening of Tuesday, the bush fire started again this Wednesday at the foot of the Atima domain. This time, the front of the flames seriously approached the homes, whose residents were awakened from their sleep around 2 a.m.
The fire which had been stopped the day before at the bottom of a valley rose up the hill during the night then passed the crest to descend towards the first fares of the Atima subdivision. That's where Sandra, who was returning from celebrating her birthday, went to raise the alarm. With firefighter parents in the Austral Islands and Paea, the young woman had the reflex to warn the inhabitants of the area.
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©Polynesia the 1st/S.Cheung Piou
Very quickly, the Mahina firefighters intervened on site. A tanker truck was positioned on the heights and another was placed on standby in the subdivision. The municipal teams were then joined by a reinforcement vehicle from Pirae.
The Damas tavana Terai Teuira and Maono Poaru, municipal councilor and former Paris firefighter, were also on site to monitor the operations. “I was called urgently to inform me of a fire breaking out on the Atima slope which threatens homes… the Pirae firefighters came as reinforcements… we hope that it is not a voluntary act, as mayor I ask myself a lot of questions, obviously the drought has done its job too”indicated the mayor of Mahina on site.
The intervention of the Mahina firefighters to stop the disaster.
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©Polynesia the 1st/Steve Cheung Piou
And it was around 4 a.m., as daylight began to rise, that the firefighters finally had the situation under control. Even if on the ground a lot of work remained to be done to focus on all the fumaroles and incandescent strains.
Nearly 2 hectares of ferns, shrubs and falcatas burned in two days. The causes of the fire the day before are still unknown.
With press release City of Mahina
