Outdoor fire

A large fire has ripped through four hectares of gum trees and slash close to Kerikeri's town centre on Sunday afternoon.
More than 20 firefighters, two helicopters and a digger have battled the fire since about 3.30pm, in an area where eucalyptus forest is being cleared for a new development.
Fire and Emergency said the fire was put out late Sunday night, but forestry contractors remained onsite overnight to monitor hotspots.
The fire was initially across an area of about 200 square metres, but high winds fanned it to a wider area.
The fire was off Fairy Pools Lane and close to the Heritage Bypass, about 500 metres from motels and homes along Kerikeri Road, as well as a church and a funeral home.
However, Fire and Emergency NZ said no property was threatened and there had been no evacuations.
Two Salt Air helicopters from Paihia scooped water from the Fairy Pools - a popular swimming spot near the town centre - to dump on the burning gum trees and slash.
Incident controller Wayne Martin said the fire was 90 percent contained by 7pm and he expected it to be fully contained by nightfall.
There was no immediate threat to the town and no evacuations had been ordered, he said.
Martin said the likely cause was a burn pile from a burn-off earlier in the week that had been rekindled by Sunday's strong winds.
It had then spread through slash and into piles of felled timber.
A digger had been used to break up some of the piles while the helicopters used monsoon buckets to take the heat out of them.
It was at least the second fire in the same area in little more than a week.
Martin said he had asked staff to look into the previous fires.
As to whether FENZ would try to recover the costs of fighting the latest fire, Martin said the immediate priority was getting the fire contained and secure.
Other matters would be considered later in the week.
While nearby homes and businesses were not immediately threatened by the fire, Martin said there was a significant smoke nuisance.
That was unfortunately made worse when firefighters tackled the bigger piles, so some were being allowed to burn down lower before they were extinguished.
Volunteers from Kerikeri, Ōkaihau, Paihia, Kawakawa and Kaikohe rural brigades were called out to fight the blaze, and would be replaced by forestry crews to monitor the area overnight.
Martin said his message to Northlanders was to check the weather conditions for two weeks ahead before lighting any fires.
He added they should also check the latest fire season status and advice on the Check it's Alright website.
"Just be aware that we're having some really extreme temperatures, which isn't the norm for this time of the year. And we're getting quite a bit of wind as well, so things are starting to dry out. So be well aware of that."
The area where the fire broke out used to be known as the Bing Property, after its previous owner.
The 20ha property is bordered by Kerikeri's town centre, Kerikeri River and the Heritage Bypass, and was until earlier this year dominated by 90-year-old gum trees and redwoods.
They are currently being felled by the land's new owner to make way for a large-scale development.
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