Far North fire: Huge Ahipara blaze tamed, but remaining small fires worry crews

Thursday, 31 December 2020

Incident controller Rory Renwick gives an update on a huge fire in Ahipara, in the Far North, which saw residents evacuated from their homes.

The large bush fire in the Far North that resulted in the evacuation of more than 100 properties still requires “a lot of work”, according to Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ).

On Tuesday, multiple crews and helicopters were called after a blaze took hold in the Gumfields Historic Reserve, in Ahipara at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach.

Witnesses described seeing smoke and flames ravaging the hill before reporting ash “raining from the sky”.

More than 100 homes had to be evacuated due to a blaze in Ahipara.

FENZ incident controller Rory Renwick said on Thursday the situation is looking “pretty positive at the moment” but there is still “a lot of work to do”.

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While much of the blaze has been tamed, and residents have been able to return to their homes, Renwick said the crew is still “worried” about the small fires that remain on the perimeter of the hill.

“They can get away into unburnt areas and cause the fire to spread,” he said.

Residents, most of whom sought solace in nearby friends’ homes, have since described themselves as feeling fortunate to have “escaped without loss of life, loss of property or injury”.

For the fire crews currently tackling the aftermath, reaching the edges of the hill isn’t an easy task.

Renwick said the crews are currently working in some “very steep terrain”, and are having to cut tracks in multiple places in order to access the hot spots.

The firefighters will focus on the hot spots on the perimeter over the coming days.

A total fire ban is now in place across all of Northland.