Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire which has destroyed hillside properties beside a Hawke’s Bay river after a bus caught fire below the hill, witnesses say.
In the latest update, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews were close to containing the blaze in the area locals call Puketapu Hill, near multiple properties in Fernhill, near Hastings.
However, it warned the fire is “not yet under control”.
The fire, near State Highway 50 and the Ngaruroro River bridge, was reported to Fire and Emergency just before 1.30pm on Tuesday.
There are about 18 fire crews on the ground, including both urban and rural firefighters.
“It is too windy for any aerial firefighting with wind speeds reaching up to 90km/hr at times,” Fire and Emergency said.
Operations manager at the scene Jason Hill said one dwelling was destroyed and another had been damaged.
“There are multiple structures in the area and some have been lost, but those are not thought to be residences.
“Firefighters have worked hard to prevent further damage to structures and will be working into the night,” Hill said.
“Residents from the community around Farmhouse Lodge have been evacuated. Hawkes Bay Civil Defence is providing support to the evacuees.”
The fire covers about six hectares.
A significant amount of smoke was drifting over the area and nearby Ōmahu.
Police initially said there had been no injuries reported. A Hato Hone St John spokeswoman said one person had been transported to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in a serious condition. It was unclear if this was due to injuries or smoke inhalation.
NZTA advised the public to avoid SH50 through Fernhill, between Taihape Rd and Omahu Rd, which was closed as of 3.30pm.
Farmhouse Lodge co-owner Novia Bliss said a tenant noticed black smoke and ran to alert her and her husband, Dawson.
Novia said Dawson went up the hill but couldn’t see what was happening, then headed downhill, where he saw from the road that a bus was on fire. They immediately called 111, she said.
Novia said the first fire truck arrived about 30 minutes after her call.
While they were arriving, she went door to door evacuating all the lodge’s residents, of which there are about 50, she said.
Local photographer Glenn Thomson first spotted the hillside fire from his house several kilometres away.
“We went to the neighbours, where we could see it through binoculars, so I just sent the drone up for a look,” he said.
“I didn’t get too close to it, but the smoke was blowing away from the drone.”
He described the fire as “quite intense” while he was filming.
“It got a lot after then because the wind came up. The bases of the large trees to the right of the main fire also caught on fire afterwards,” he said.
Thomson estimated he was about 3km away from the fire.
“I didn’t leave the drone there too long, just in case a helicopter decided to turn up.“
About 2.30pm a separate smaller scrub fire was reported to be threatening houses in Havelock North.
As of 3.20pm, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said firefighters had contained the 5m by 5m fire in windy conditions and no formal evacuations of nearby buildings had taken place.
The fires came just hours after a prohibited fire season commenced on the Tukituki West zone of Hawke’s Bay.
From 8am, the area joined Southern Hawke’s Bay Coast, Porangahau, Ahuriri-Heretaunga and Tukituki East zones in a prohibited fire season.
No fires are allowed in the open and all fire permits are suspended.
Hawke’s Bay’s Te Haroto zone has also moved to a restricted fire season until further notice, joining Wairoa Inland, Tararua West and Central zones already under a restricted fire season.
A restricted fire season means anyone who wants to light an open-air fire will need to obtain a permit, through www.checkitsalright.nz.
Fire and Emergency’s Hawke’s Bay district manager Tony Kelly said consistently high temperatures and windy conditions meant the fire risk was extremely high, especially between December 25 and 27.
“This means we’ll be seeing high temperatures, high winds, and no rainfall. This is a bad combination when it comes to fire danger.
“Last weekend, our crews worked incredibly hard to put out two vegetation fires in Te Haroto and Hastings. We want them to get a break this holiday season to relax and spend time with whānau.”