Media were taken through Lake Ōhau village by Fire and Emergency Incident Controller, Graeme Still, to see the damage from the devastating fire. Video / Logan Church
Lake Ōhau residents who need to retrieve essential items from undamaged properties within the fire cordons can register to be escorted to and from their homes today.
The managed access will be for urgent essential purposes, such as tradespeople retrieving tools or people needing medication.
The access will be availablebetween 10am and 2pm; provided conditions are safe for entry.
Residents will be transported in and out in a FENZ vehicle.
Fire and Emergency NZ is now confident the 4600ha bush fire is mostly contained, but flames have gutted more than 50 houses in Lake Ōhau village.
There were emotional scenes yesterday when locals were let back into the village to see the damage caused when a fire ripped through the village in the early hours of Sunday after strong winds on Saturday night.
Fire incident controller Graeme Still said his teams feel losses like this deeply.
But he said they did manage to save a lot as well - and that was one thing to stay positive about.
