Fire authority seeks blaze costs

The National Rural Fire Authority will seek more than $100,000 in costs from the person they believe is responsible for last summer's Santoft forest fire.

The Santoft blaze on February 5, which charred farmland and forest, was sparked by an incinerator. It needed 130 firefighters, 23 fire engines, three helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft to bring under control.

"National Rural Fire Authority have been in communication with the person we believe to be responsible, requesting that payment be made to us for the fire control costs totalling $105,021.37 that have been expended from the national rural fire fighting fund," national rural operations manager Gary Lockyer said.

"We are now also in communication with that person's insurance loss adjuster."

In June, Rangitikei District Council, which originally covered the cost of fighting the blaze, was reimbursed $98,696 by the National Rural Fire Authority, which then took over the case. It then went through a legal review to determine liability.