Kaimaumau fire may still be burning after 10 months as summer fire season looms

A helicopter equipped with a monsoon bucket fighting the Kaimaumau fire in December 2021. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is warning of increasingly intense fire seasons as uncertainty remains over whether a peat fire in the Far North is still burning underground.

The fire in the Kaimaumau wetlands began on December 18 last year and affected 2800ha of land.

FENZ district manager Wipari Henwood said there was no visible sign of fire in the area, but it could still be burning.

"Back in June, we went in and had a look at it and there were just a couple of hot spots. We're still not 100 per cent sure of the status of the fire."

Access into the wetlands was difficult, Henwood said, due to the boggy ground but FENZ planned to fly over the area soon to look for hot spots with thermal imaging.

Fire crews would then be sent in to extinguish any areas still burning.

The cause of the blaze is yet to be revealed, but Henwood said the investigation has been completed and the contents will be made public in "the coming weeks".

A smaller fire at Aranga of less than a hectare that broke out last year was still burning underground due to the presence of peat.

"We're looking to do something about it in the next couple of weeks to try to devise a plan to either remove the fuel or actually dig it up and extinguish the fire," Henwood said.

There were also no signs of fire at the Aranga blaze after it was believed to be out, and it was "creeping away" for a month or more, Henwood added.

Wipari Henwood at the Kaimaumau fire headquarters in December. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Department of Conservation Kaitāia operations manager Meirene​ Hardy-Birch said a significant amount of the Kaimaumau wetlands scientific reserve - managed by DoC and Ngāi Takoto iwi - was burned.

There were a number of endangered species in the reserve, including a rare sun orchid, the black mudfish, the Northland green gecko and the Australasian bittern (matuku), Hardy-Birch said.

She said it could take 10 to 15 years for the ecosystem to recover after the fire, although the process had begun.

"Many native plants and trees have already started regenerating in the burnt areas."

Although there had been large fires in the wetlands before, they would likely become more common with climate change, Hardy-Birch said.

Henwood said there had been a recent increase in the number of days when the fire risk was extreme, and the risk could change more quickly.

"The weather conditions can go from high to extreme in a short period of time."

Two wet spring seasons in a row resulted in more grass growing, and therefore more fuel for fires, Henwood added.

There was a significant difference between weather on the east and west coasts with much drier conditions in places such as Omapere, Rawene and Pouto Point.

"It won't take much before we have to put in those restrictions," Henwood said.

The Far North usually stayed in a restricted fire season because of the nature of the scrub and topography of the area, he added.

A ban on fireworks was put in place before Guy Fawkes in Karikari Peninsula, Ahipara township and surrounding areas to help reduce the risk of wildfires.

The ban remains in place until April 30, 2023.

Those areas had flammable grasses that were easily ignited by fireworks, Henwood said.

"Looking into the summer, the number one critical thing is if you need to burn rubbish make sure you check the weather forecast.

"Don't burn outside fires when there's an increasing wind."

It was also important to have some way to extinguish fires, such as a garden hose and to clear a space around the area of the fire, Henwood said.

Further advice and fire permit applications are available online at checkitsalright.nz