While rural firefighters dealt with a minor flare-up at the scene of Sunday's big grass and scrub fire at Mahia electrical engineers and water specialists got to work yesterday morning to restore power and water to about 40 properties in the affected Mahanga area.
Power had been cut off in what a Wairoa District Council spokesperson said was a "precautionary" measure as a power pole had been caught up in the area of the blaze.
After repairs and checks by Eastland Network engineers power was restored just after 9.30am.
The water supply however was a different proposition.
"The supply has been affected," the spokesperson said.
The Mahanga Pump Station had been damaged by the fire and wiring had been burned out.
Council staff were evaluating the damage and with the power restored water was likely to be able to be pumped out to the station.
Water would also be sent out to residents where required.
"Many of them have their own tanks - and they are a pretty resilient community out that way."
Sunday's fire, which broke out just after 3pm in scrub south of the settlement, happened just three weeks after the Wairoa District Council introduced a total fire ban in the wake of drying conditions and wind affecting the region.
It has led to council and fire officers issuing strong "be aware" advice to everyone across the wider Bay region as temperatures were rising and conditions drying.
Winds are predicted to rise later this week as well as temperatures, with inland areas facing up to 30C tomorrow and possibly 32C on Thursday.
"Conditions are certainly at an extreme level," Hawke's Bay Fire area commander Ken Cooper said.
"It is very evident there is a severe fire risk."
Mr Cooper said despite Napier and Hastings being under restricted fire seasons, where people are barred from having any open fire in urban areas without a permit, firefighters were called to about 30 over the past week.
"Rubbish and bonfires," he said.
"People have to strictly adhere to the fire bans which are imposed."
Sunday's fire caught many locals by surprise given the speed it travelled, and for bach owner Chris Patheyjohns there was no doubt what had prevented a possible major disaster.
"One road...if it had crossed it then we (the baches and homes) were goners," he said.
But the combination of what he said was "amazing" work by the nine fire crews who raced to the scene and a wind change prevented it from crossing and spreading.
Sarah Young, who had been at the beach with her children agreed, saying "all it had to do was jump the road and it would have been on top of us".
At the height of the fire six helicopters were also involved.
"The wind had been coming from the south but it changed to an easterly and that pushed it away," Mr Patheyjohns said.
He and other residents used everything from sprinklers to spades and shovels to prevent the spread, but realised the severity.
"It was pretty frightening because it moved so fast - it was a close thing."
Mr Patheyjohns said many locals simply took the staunch attitude that "if it was going to happen it was going to happen".
He had owned a bach at Mahanga for about three years and said there had been a couple of small fires in the past but nothing as "scary" as Sunday's blaze.
For many Mahia locals it brought back memories of the great blaze which tore through Opoutama back in 2009.
Sunday's fire destroyed one unoccupied home which had been relocated to its Pukenui Drive site about three weeks ago.
Firefighters had the worst of the blaze contained by about 8.15 on Sunday night with residents able to go back to their homes and the main road re-opened.
Some crews remained through the night to provide structural fire protection as well as establishing a fire break around the southern end of the fire area.
Fire crews were backed up with tankers from Wairoa and a "smoke chaser" which had arrived from Gisborne was being used to locate and deal with smouldering tree stumps and shelter belts near the fire's perimeter.
It was not known at this stage what may have sparked the fire.
FIRE STATUS
● Napier City is currently in a restricted fire season for rural areas. Open fires (aside from cooking fires) are not permitted in urban areas. People can light fires only if a permit is issued from council.
● Hastings - Restricted fire season. To light an outdoor fire, a fire permit is required.
● Central Hawke's Bay is currently in a restricted fire season. Permits are required before lighting a fire and conditions on burning may apply.
● For the Māhia, Opoutama, Māhanga, Nūhaka & Mōrere areas (including all beaches) to the district's northern boundary on SH2, a prohibited fire season is in place, meaning no person can light a fire in the open air under any circumstances. All fire permits which had previously been issued have been revoked.