MetService is warning of more high winds today as parts of Hawke's Bay clean up after weekend gusts that toppled trees and left a woman in hospital.
A frantic four-hour chainsawing effort was required north of Lake Tutira in Northern Hawkes' Bay on Saturday to clear the road so an
ambulance could get to a woman injured by a falling tree. The woman, who received head and face injuries, was recovering in Hawke's Bay Hospital yesterday.
She and her partner were returning from a visit to Shine Falls, off SH2 between Napier and Wairoa, when the couple realised their route back was blocked by fallen trees.
The incident happened on Heays Access Rd as the couple were trying to find a way out of the area.
Putorino volunteer fire brigade and other locals worked to clear the road from both ends so an ambulance could reach the woman. One of those involved in chainsawing fallen trees on the road, stock manager Lou Stephens, said about 20 trees had to be cut and pushed out of the way to clear a path for the ambulance.
