Waipoua River fire: Smoke stopping some evacuees from returning home
The cause of the Waipoua River Fire is likely to be announced within a day.
Crews were in cleanup mode at Northland’s Waipoua Settlement yesterday, dampening down hot spots.
Around half of the evacuated residents were able to return home on Monday.
Some chose to stay away because of the smoke that has settled in the valley.
Te Roroa Development Group general manager Snow Tane said the smog threatened asthma sufferers and elderly residents.
Fire and Emergency NZ Northland district manager Wipari Henwood said the blaze was contained mostly to scrub land areas and had not damaged much of the forest.
He said the fire took off with intensity and high speed.
“We were concerned that we would lose quite a large part of the actual forest, let alone potential houses and lives lost; because it was quite frantic.”
The outcome could have been a lot worse, Henwood said.
The initial response to the 100ha blaze brought voluntary support from across the district, including Kaikohe, Paparoa, Ōmapere, Kawakawa, Maungakaramea and Te Kōpuru.
Iwi and the Department of Conservation also helped.
Henwood said they would consult with iwi before announcing the cause of the blaze.
Tane said isolated communities in Northland were dedicating time to fire resilience and prevention after major blazes in the area, such as a 70ha burn in Waikarā in 2022 that came close to the marae.
The impacts of previous fires had informed current efforts, Tane said.
Te Roroa and Waikarā had a fire response team ready this time.
They were first on the scene before emergency fire services arrived from Ōpononi and Te Kōpuru.
Tane said the Te Roroa and Waikarā teams helped evacuate residents from about 20 homes at the settlement.
Building towards prevention and improvement of emergency response was a key priority for the community, he said.
Tane believed climate change was a very real threat to isolated communities and mitigating risks was a big factor, such as removing trees that are close to homes.
Henwood said Northland had been experiencing fires nearly every day recently.
Crews were kept busy on Monday night as a 2ha fire burned in rural Panguru.
Henwood said the blaze started in kikuyu grass and almost burned down a house.
Crews from Kaikohe stayed overnight to work on the blaze. Contracting crews dampened down hot spots yesterday morning.
A restricted fire season is in place across Northland, meaning permits are required to light fires.
Meanwhile, parts of the west coast and Far North are under a prohibited season meaning no outdoor fires can be lit and permits are revoked.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.