Firefighters have contained a wildfire that destroyed hillside properties beside a Hawke’s Bay river after a bus at the bottom of the hill caught alight, witnesses say.
In the latest update, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews contained the 6ha blaze in the area locals call Puketapu Hill, which is close to multiple properties in Fernhill, near Hastings.
Firefighters will continue operations until dark, then patrol and monitor overnight.
The fire near State Highway 50 and the Ngaruroro River bridge was reported to Fire and Emergency just before 1.30pm Tuesday.
There were 18 fire crews on the ground, including urban and rural firefighters.
Operations manager at the scene Jason Hill said one dwelling was destroyed and another had been damaged.
Wind speeds up to 90km/h prevented aerial firefighting at times but Hill said the wind has dropped considerably from this afternoon’s peak.
“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. Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence is providing support to the evacuees.”
Others who live across the road from the fire have been allowed to return home, on the understanding that if conditions deteriorate they may have to evacuate at short notice.
A significant amount of smoke was drifting over the area and nearby Ōmahu.
Police initially said no injuries had been reported. A Hato Hone St John spokeswoman said one person was transported to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in a serious condition. It was unclear if this was because of 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.
The highway would remain closed overnight. Police said motorists should take alternative routes and expect delays.
A fire investigator will be on site tomorrow and work with police to establish the origin and cause of the fire.
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 worse 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 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 such restrictions.
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.”