Fire prompts warning from Deputy Chief

Firefighters in the Far North battled for two hours to douse a fire lit near a pile of trees despite fire restrictions.

The callout, about 3.30am yesterday on Whangape Rd in Herekino, prompted a fire chief to warn people against lighting open fires anywhere in the district.

Ahipara Deputy Chief Fire Officer Terry Te Pania said a stack of macrocarpa trees had been felled and stacked up to make way for what appeared to be a driveway.

He said whoever cleared the area decided to burn the trees without checking with the Far North District Council or informing the Northern Rural Fire Authority.

Mr Te Pania said he did not know who owned the land or whether the New Zealand Fire Service wished to pursue the matter.

"That fire would have just burnt for days. Lots of sparks were coming out which set fire to another tree about 20 metres away.

"It just goes to show the nature of the risk. Whoever lit the fire should have let someone know, especially when no open fires are currently allowed without a permit," he said.

A prohibited fire season was declared on the Aupouri and Karikari peninsulas (Zone 1), where there are normally year-round restrictions on lighting fires, meaning no open-air fires will be allowed until further notice.

The authority will consider granting special permits for hangi fires, but the only other exceptions to the total fire ban will be gas barbecues.

A restricted fire season will take effect in the remainder of the district, meaning a permit will be needed for any fire in the open.

Zone 1 extends from Cape Reinga to the northern side of SH10 between Awanui and Taipa, the western side of SH1 between Kaitaia and Awanui, the northern and/or western side of the Kaitaia Awaroa Rd, and the northern side of Uwhiroa Stream and the Herekino Harbour.

Zone 2 covers the rest of the district.

The most expensive fire season in the Far North to date was 2009/10, when fires cost more than $1.6 million to put out.

One blaze alone, at Kaimaumau, cost $1 million.