Queenstown resident describes the mood among the town as two separate fires burn

Queenstown residents watched in horror as bushfires burned on the edge of their hometown. See footage of the hills surrounding the town burning.

Queenstown residents woke on Wednesday morning to find the town covered in smoke, with two fires burning on both ends of the town.

A fire alert was issued just before 2am for a blaze burning on Peters St, Queenstown.

Two separate bushfires are burning at Queenstown. Picture: David Newall.

Another fire is also burning between Queenstown Airport and the township.

Empire Hotel Publican and Destination West Coast Chair David Newall said visibility at Queenstown was poor.

Two separate bushfires are burning at Queenstown. Picture: David Newall.

“You can barely see Mount Owen through the smoke. But the fireys are pretty good,” Mr Newall said.

“I think they’ve got four helicopters going on the two big fires at the moment.

“The one closest to town, it’s just smouldering at the moment – so they’ve been dumping a lot of water.

“The one at the back of the town, they’re getting on top of it.

“If they get a bit more rain, that would be great, but they’re hoping to have it out by this afternoon – as long as the wind doesn’t change.”

Two separate bushfires are burning at Queenstown. Picture: David Newall.

“Flabbergasted” is how Mr Newell described the reaction of the locals to the fire.

“We’ve had no lightning or anything to start these fires, so we’re trying to figure out why the fires started.

“But we are very thankful for the fireys to get the helicopters and everything on the move.”