News in brief: Arson attempts investigated, duck hits powerlines

A duck hit a power line causing an outage that lasted nearly four hours. Photo / NZME

Police are investigating two arson attempts in Ōpua State Forest which had the potential to be disastrous, a senior firefighter says. The fires were lit in bush alongside Oromahoe Rd just before 1pm on Sunday. A local resident raised the alarm and tried to douse the flames until fire crews arrived from Paihia, Kerikeri and Kawakawa. One fire was small but the other covered about 30sq m and ''had potential to be disastrous'', Kerikeri fire chief Les Wasson said. Police attended and are investigating.

Duck hits power line

A duck hitting a power line in Maungaturoto caused an outage that lasted nearly four hours. The incident happened at 7am on Friday last week on one of the Northpower lines just off Kirk Rd. A Northpower spokeswoman said 735 households in Maungaturoto, Waipu Gorge, and Whakapirau were without electricity between 7.09am and 10.44am.

Fatigued driver crashes

Northlanders are being reminded not to drive while fatigued after a motorist nodded off on State Highway 10 and crashed in spectacular fashion. The accident, about 2pm on New Year's Day, occurred north of Waipapa with Kerikeri fire chief Les Wasson saying the vehicle left the road, became airborne, cleared a fence and landed on its side against a hedge. The driver, who had fallen asleep, was uninjured.

Ruakākā rescue

A female swimmer who got into difficulty, 50m south of the flags, was rescued by lifeguards off Ruakākā Beach on Sunday. It was one of 18 rescues done by paid and volunteer lifeguards in Northland and Auckland that day. A total of 410 people flocked to Ruakākā Beach yesterday and a paid lifeguard said swimmers were sticking between the flags and catching nice waves in easterly winds.

Burnoff flares up again

A burnoff which flared back into life six weeks after it supposedly went out is a reminder of the current fire risk, Kerikeri fire chief Les Wasson says. The brigade was called to a property on Kapiro Rd about 6.30pm on New Year's Day when embers from an earlier fire, fanned by strong winds, ignited bamboo slash. Wasson said the original fire had been lit six weeks earlier but the embers had retained sufficient heat to reignite in the dry, windy conditions. The occupants of the property were out fishing at the time. It was a warning to pay close attention to wind and ground conditions and ensure burnoffs were fully extinguished, he said.

Quad bike rolls

A young woman was flown to Whangārei Hospital after an accident with a quad bike north of Kaitaia on Friday. The accident occurred about 11.15am when the all-terrain vehicle rolled on a lawn at Henderson Bay. All three occupants were thrown out but only one suffered a potentially serious injury when she struck her head. The rescue helicopter was able to land on the lawn. St John Ambulance and Houhora Fire Brigade also responded.