FENZ/Supplied
The high country fire at Long Gully has been contained before reaching a historic hut.
A historic hut has been found undamaged by a vegetation fire on Queenstown’s Coronet Peak.
An aerial reconnaissance at dawn on Saturday over the damage at Long Gully on Skippers Rd found the hut undamaged.
The fire, reported to emergency services about 6.15pm on Thursday, was contained just after noon on Friday, having spread across about 12 hectares of retired high country farmland and wilding pines.
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FENZ/Supplied
Three helicopters and four ground crews battle a large wildfire near Queenstown.
Fire and Emergency incident controller Nic McQuillan said the flight on Saturday found no visible smoke, but thermal imaging identified one hotspot and two other areas that needed to be investigated by ground crews.
Two crews of firefighters returned to the Long Gully fire ground on Skippers Rd to deal with the hotspots.
Skippers Rd reopened to the public on Saturday morning with traffic management in place so fire crews could operate safely in the area.
Four mountainbike trails in the Long Gully area would remain closed until crews finished; the Skippers Pack Track, the Coronet Loop below Greengate Saddle, the Pack Track and Sack Trail, and Atleys Terrace Track.
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Two tree stumps burn next to the chimney from the historic Welcome Home Hotel also known as the Long Gully Pub.
McQuillan thanked tourist operators and Skippers residents for their understanding while the road was closed, and mountainbikers for choosing other trails while fire crews and helicopters were suppressing the fire.
A 10-day mountain bike festival with hundreds of participants started in Queenstown on Friday.
The trails close to, or affected by, the fire include the Skippers Pack Track, the Coronet Loop below Greengate Saddle, the Pack Track and Sack Trail, and Atleys Terrace Track.
FENZ/Supplied
The large wildfire near Queenstown caused only a slight disruption to a mountain bike festival.
Event manager Emmerson Wilken said the festival encountered only a “very small” interruption because of the fire.
Mountain bikers were meant to descent down Coronet Peak on Friday in the CORO1200 race event, but an alternative route was made instead.
Fire investigators were working to determine the cause of the blaze.
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