FENZ responding to vegetation fire on Walter Peak, smoke visible from Queenstown

Fire and Emergency is responding to a large vegetation fire at Walter Peak station on the shores of Lake Wakatipu.

Two helicopters with monsoon buckets were already at work to protect the Walter Peak homestead while other aircraft was on their way.

Firefighters from Frankton and Glenorchy were being airlifted onto the fireground while crews from Mossburn were travelling by road.

Assistant District Commander Nic McQuillan said initial efforts were focused on protecting the homestead.

The fire was also spreading rapidly up the steep slopes of Mount Nicholas.

Smoke from the fire was being blown across the lake towards Jacks Point and Hanleys Farm, and was likely to move towards Queenstown.

Residents in areas affected by the smoke were told to keep doors and windows closed to avoid exposure.

The fire was reignited from a planned burn in the area last Wednesday.

“Following a controlled scrub burn last week, the site has reignited this afternoon in an area south of the Walter Peak Homestead. The Homestead and nearby treeline are not impacted at this stage, and Fire & Emergency NZ are responding to bring the fire under control,” a RealNZ spokesperson said.

“As a precaution, guests, contractors and staff have been evacuated to the amphitheatre while the burn area is dampened down. Our 1pm and 3pm Walter Peak experiences have been cancelled.”

This article is republished from RNZ under its Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0. The original story first appeared on rnz.co.nz on 6 October 2026.