Northland burns

Two people will be prosecuted for starting fires during Northland's drought as the region's firefighters struggle to cope with hundreds of callouts to scrub blazes since the start of the year.
There is a total fire ban across the whole of Northland  but people are ignoring it and firefighters are worried that lives and homes could be lost.
Firefighters in the Far North alone have been called out to fight 132 scrub or vegetation fires since January 1.
Another four scrub fires yesterday further stretched resources, with a large blaze at Kaimaumau burning more than 100ha and needing five helicopters and 10 fire appliances to battle the flames.
Far North principal rural fire officer Lance Johnston said the fire had got into peat bogs.
"We are going to have to have crews there for up to three weeks putting it out. It's a huge drain on resources and at the same time there are fires at Ahipara and Pouto," Mr Johnston said.
At one stage smoke from the Kaimaumau fire could be seen  more than 20km away.
Under the Forest and Rural Fire Act anyone found guilty of lighting a fire without a permit could face a maximum fine of $2000 or six months' jail - but that hasn't deterred some "idiots" from starting fires.
Mr Johnston said he had two prosecutions pending against people who were believed to have started fires during the fire ban, but he had been too busy to issue the people with the court action.
That would be done as soon as the pressure went off having to fight fire after fire, virtually every day.
In the meantime he had a simple message to people: "Put your bloody matches and lighters away. Think about what you are doing and consider the consequences.
"We don't want to get to the stage where we lose lives or homes but that's a real possibility if people continue to be stupid."
An area harvested of pine trees but with plenty of dry timber left behind challenged firefighters on Pouto Peninsula yesterday.
It is uncertain how the fire started in the forestry block near Rototuna, 42km southeast of Dargaville, just after midday.
Three helicopters dumped monsoon buckets of water over  2ha of burning debris, while 30 firefighters had gathered on the ground to control the fire. Kaipara principal rural fire officer Fiona Vessey said there was highly flammable material at the site and
 a team of firefighters surrounded a house, dampening down hotspots. No one was home but the fire had edged extremely close, she said.
Her frustration at fighting fires during a total fire ban was evident.
"I don't know how many times we put out, there is a total ban in place and the rain we have had hasn't even begun to give us what we need to reduce the fire risk levels," Mrs Vessey said.
She said if the Pouto fire and the blaze at Kaimaumau continued for longer than 24 hours staffing levels could become critical.
At Ahipara firefighters were on the scene early yesterday morning after what is thought to have been a deliberately  lit blaze threatened to spread into old gumfields.
Kaitaia's chief fire officer, Colin Kitchen, was frustrated that deliberate and careless acts wasted resources and tied up volunteer firefighters.

 Thirty firefighters, 10 appliances and one helicopter were called in to extinguish the blaze that started about 5.30am on the side of the road between Shipwreck Bay and Gumfield Rd in Ahipara.

Meanwhile, a fire that spread through pine trees and scrub at Ruakaka was thought to be started by children.
Ruakaka Fire Brigade station officer Jeff D'Ath said 13 firefighters on two appliances were called to bushland near Bream Bay College and Tamure St, Ruakaka, about 6.30pm on Tuesday.
The fire ripped through an area about 30m by 40m.