A fire investigator is working with police to pinpoint the cause of a wildfire that destroyed hillside properties beside a Hawke’s Bay river.
Active firefighting continued into the night as fire crews monitored the now-contained blaze using a pump truck and tanker for flare-ups.
SH50 through Fernhill between Taihape Rd and Omahu Rd has reopened following the fire, with stop-and-go traffic management and a 30km/h temporary speed restriction in place.
NZTA has advised the public to expect delays.
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.
Witnesses claim the wildfire began after a bus at the bottom of the hill caught alight.
The fire near State Highway 50 and the Ngaruroro River bridge was reported to Fire and Emergency just before 1.30pm yesterday.
One home was destroyed and another was damaged, with wind speeds of up to 90km/h preventing aerial firefighting at times.
“There are multiple structures in the area and some have been lost, but those are not thought to be residences,” operations manager at the scene, Jason Hill, said.
“Firefighters have worked hard to prevent further damage to structures and will be working into the night.
“Residents from the community around Farmhouse Lodge have been evacuated. Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence is providing support to the evacuees.”
Others who lived across the road from the fire were allowed to return home, on the understanding that if conditions deteriorated they might have to evacuate at short notice.
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.
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.
“I didn’t leave the drone there too long, just in case a helicopter decided to turn up.“
About 2.30pm yesterday, 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.
The area joined Southern Hawke’s Bay Coast, Porangahau, Ahuriri-Heretaunga and Tukituki East zones in a prohibited fire season.
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.