Fire Road

Marlborough’s worst ever fire, Boxing Day 2000, burnt 6,000 hectares (almost 15,000 acres), for over three days, killed thousands of stock and threatened the wine town of Blenheim, as well as a number of vineyards and wineries. Disaster was avoided by the brave residents, of what is now known as Fireroad, who battled the blaze by using buckets and handheld hoses and were eventually assisted by a fortunate wind shift. The Fireroad vineyards flourish in the same hot and dry climate that was the catalyst for such a mighty blaze.