Sam Nelson looks out across the scene of the fire near Tikokino from his land. Photo / Christian Fuller
"We have got 70-year-old pines around the perimeter of our garden," he said. "If it had got to them, it would have been awful.
"We were told to come here to pack up and prepare to evacuate. When you're in a sudden emergency situation like that it is hard to know what to do and take with you."
He said neighbours pitched in by stamping out small fires so it didn't spread further.
Jenny Nelson looks on from her garden as three helicopters and more ground crews continue to battle the remaining fire near Tikokino. Photo / Christian Fuller
Jenny Nelson, who began to smell smoke while out working in the garden, said: "Sam was in the pool having a swim so I raced to him and said 'there's a fire, quick get out'.
"Just looking over our decking you could see where the fire was starting, with big plumes of smoke coming out of the trees.
"It was about 50 metres from the big trees in the garden."
Jenny added: "Some neighbours brought a truck down to get some water out of our pool to wet the road outside too."
A wall of flames licking at the road edge was captured on video by Deanna Hoy as the car she was in she made its way through State Highway 50 to safety, one of several to be caught out before traffic control blocked the road.
Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer Gordon Foster said the scrub fire near SH50 near Tikokino is contained to seven hectares. Photo / Warren Buckland
Foster said the cause of the fire is still not confirmed, but said it "may have been someone mowing a paddock."
"Our advice would be to warn against anybody mowing grass after 10 in the morning," he said. "Preferably, please don't mow at all at the moment."
The cause of the fire doesn't matter to Sam, who only had praise for the firefighters.
Foster said three helicopters and many more ground crew continue to battle the remaining fire near Tikokino. Photo / Warren Buckland
"A fire starts and you just want it out," he said. "How it starts doesn't matter in the moment.
"I am absolutely blown away by the efficiency of the fire service. They left a truck here with six men all day and night, just designated to look after us.
"We had two firefighters asleep on the stones outside our house with their gear on and saw more sleeping in the trucks.
"We fed one lot of them and have offered the helicopter guys and others food."
The Nelsons said firefighters used water from their dams and positioned themselves to take water from their pool if necessary as temperatures hit 37C at the scene.
"They've been emptying our dams, so thank goodness we have water in them this year," Jenny said.
The fire started just hours after a blaze reported less than 40km away further inland and between upper Wakarara and Makaroro roads near the foothills of the Ruahine Range.
The 20 hectare fire was reported about 1.18pm on Monday.
Temperatures stayed above 30C again across Hawke's Bay on Tuesday but will start to drop off on Wednesday and drop further to 21-22C on Friday.
Hawke's Bay's Principal Rural Fire Officer Trevor Mitchell guessed around 450 hectares of land has burnt in Hawke's Bay this summer. Photo / Duncan Brown
Hawke's Bay's Principal Rural Fire Officer Trevor Mitchell said while the Tikokino fire was now contained, fires had taken their toll on the region this summer, with about 450 hectares in total having gone up in flames.
"The only concern regarding the Tikokino fire near State Highway 50 is that the temperatures are making power lines sag," Mitchell said.
