Firefighters at work among charred mānuka trees south of Cape Rēinga. Photo / FENZ
Firefighters at work among charred mānuka trees south of Cape Rēinga. Photo / FENZ
Ground-based firefighters are continuing the painstaking task of extinguishing a large wildfire near Cape Rēinga while a campsite near the country’s northern tip is due to reopen on Wednesday.
The blaze broke out last week Tuesday and at its peak was fought by 10 helicopters and 40 firefighters from as far away as Paparoa.
The popular Taputaputa campground, just east of the cape, was evacuated and SH1 was closed north of Te Paki Stream until the blaze was under control.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) incident controller Wayne Martin, of Kawakawa, said ground crews were continuing to contain the fire, using thermal cameras and drones to locate hotspots.
High humidity and reduced winds were working in firefighters’ favour so resources were being scaled down.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 24 firefighters were working at the fire site using hand tools to tackle the remaining hotspots. They were a mix of contract firefighters and Department of Conservation and Ngāti Kuri staff.
One helicopter was being used to transport firefighters because the area was steep and hard to access.
The fire covered an area of 298 hectares with a perimeter of 19km. That was smaller than the 390ha cited a few days earlier because the burnt area had now been measured precisely from the air.
“We want to make sure it is well and truly contained before we hand it back (to DoC and Ngāti Kuri),” Martin said.
An investigation into the cause of the fire was continuing.
An aerial photo shows the extent of the burnt area, which is west of SH1 and just south of Cape Rēinga. Photo / FENZ
Sheridan Waitai, a Ngāti Kuri Trust Board director, said Taputaputa campground would reopen at 8am on Wednesday.
SH1 had reopened last week Thursday.
All walking tracks in the area, however, remained closed until further notice.
Tracks between Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Rēinga and Kapowairua/Spirits Bay were already closed due to damage inflicted by Cyclone Gabrielle on a wetland boardwalk, while tracks between the cape and Kahokawa/Scott’s Pt, at the northern end of Te Oneroa a Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach, were near the fire ground.
Concerns remained about the fate of a taonga species — a rare snail called pūpū whakarongotaua — which lived in several colonies in the area of the fire.
She anticipated some losses but because the fire had left patches of unburnt vegetation the iwi wouldn’t be sure how many had died until staff could return to the area.
Waitai said only about 1000 pūpū whakarongotaua were thought to exist, of which just 300 were capable of breeding.
The iwi was now considering how to aid fire recovery. That included ensuring the burnt area was not taken over by weeds, which could create an even greater fire risk in future.
