The fire broke out in scrub and pines just uphill from the Marlin Hotel in Whangaroa. Photo / Christopher Maca
The cause of a wildfire that prompted the evacuation of a Whangaroa home and brought firefighters from across the Far North remains under investigation.
Fire and Emergency NZ received multiple 111 calls just after 12.20pm on Thursday as the blaze broke out in scrub and pine trees a few hundred metres uphill from the Marlin Hotel in Whangaroa.
Initially a brisk wind was driving the flames towards a house on Old Church Rd so volunteers from Kāeo Fire Brigade, who were first on the scene, formed a defensive line around the property until the wind switched direction.
They were joined by firefighters from the Cavalli, Kerikeri, Mangonui and Ōkaihau brigades, while a helicopter from Dargaville-based Helinorth scooped water from the harbour and dumped it on the flames.
The steep terrain and dense scrub made the firefighters’ job difficult with some attacking the fire from above on Old Hospital Rd, on the flanks of St Paul’s Rock, while others tackled the flames from Old Church Rd.
By 3pm the fire was well under control. The helicopter was stood down and the job of mopping up and guarding against flare-ups was handed over to rural fire specialists from the Kaikohe and Cavalli brigades.
Kāeo fire chief Jo Sweet-Bennett said the terrain was “horrendous”. The ground was steep and the wind was blowing the flames uphill through pampas, mānuka, gorse and pine.
She estimated the burned area was roughly the size of a rugby pitch.
With large numbers of holidaymakers flocking to Northland and vegetation rapidly drying out now that summer weather had finally arrived, she urged people to use common sense around barbecues and open fires.
All caravans should be equipped with a smoke alarm and a fire extinguisher because they could be engulfed by fire in minutes.
“Just think before you light a fire. Use your brain, it’s pretty simple,” she said.
Fenz group manager Denis Cooper said the Whangaroa fire was well contained by 3pm. Rural fire crews would remain on site to mop up and monitor the area to make sure there was no risk to people or property.
The occupants of one home that was initially in the path of the fire had self-evacuated, which Cooper said was “a very wise thing to do”.
The cause was as yet undetermined.
At first it was thought the fire may have escaped from an incinerator but information that came to light during the afternoon suggested it may have been suspicious.
Several homes in the area had surveillance cameras, which would likely prove useful to the investigation, he said.
Like Sweet-Bennett he urged everyone — whether they were at home, in a caravan or holiday accommodation — to ensure they had working smoke alarms.
Anyone using an incinerator or other outdoor fire had to keep an eye on it at all times and ensure a supply of water, or other means of putting out a blaze, was at hand.
Whangaroa was packed with boaties and holidaymakers who watched the drama from the waterfront.
Among them was Grant Borley, a Sydney-based Kiwi holidaying at Te Ngaere with family.
He arrived at Whangaroa by boat just as smoke started billowing from the hillside above the town.
“When we got closer we saw the flames flicking up and somebody with a hose down the bottom. Then the fire engines came and the helicopter started dropping water. It was incredible.”
Watching the action made “first-class entertainment”.
“I don’t know how anyone’s going to beat that,” he said.
Meanwhile, Paihia firefighters were called just after 12.30pm when a fire broke out on a boat moored near Waitangi boat ramp.
Paihia fire chief Rex Wilson said the 12-metre launch was burning fiercely when the brigade arrived.
A local boatie offered his Sealegs to take five firefighters wearing breathing apparatus to the burning vessel.
They “poured water onto it” until it was safe for a firefighter to climb on board and extinguish the remaining hotspots.
The Northland harbourmaster then towed the burnt-out vessel to Ōpua where it was hauled out of the water to remove any safety or environmental risk.
Firefighters accompanying the harbourmaster used a portable pump to douse the vessel when it twice reignited on the way to Bay of Islands Marina boatyard.
