Northland news in brief: More Lotto success and no charges over Heads fire

More Lotto success in Northland with 13 tickets sold in the region each winning $5000 on Saturday.

Lotto winners

Thirteen tickets sold in Northland each won $5000 in Lotto's Christmas Promotion that saw an extra 400-plus prizes won on vouchers given with Lucky Dip tickets. There were 400 prizes of $5000, with five sold in Kerikeri, voucher numbers 1177323, 1022867, 398571, 413066 and 559823; four on MyLotto in Northland, numbers 1362270, 1800771, 1808452 and 2171886. Other winners were from Whangārei, number 661659; Kawakawa, 1535470; Mangawhai, 2084971 and Waipu, 2121524. A lucky MyLotto player from Nelson won $1 million in the Promotion. Meanwhile, two Lotto players from Waihi and Papamoa will also be celebrating after each winning $500,000 with Lotto First Division in Saturday's live Lotto draw. Powerball was not struck and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $22 million.

No action for rubbish fire

No action will be taken against a Parua Bay resident who started a rubbish fire without a permit. Firefighters from Whangārei Heads were called to the fire about 8.30pm on Saturday and put out the fire, although it hadn't got out of control. Whangārei Heads fire chief Paul MacDonald said a member of public called the fire service and his crew simply put the fire out without taking the matter any further. The man was burning tee trees. A restricted fire season came into force at 6am on December 1 which means people need a permit to light fires. There are exceptions to the rule such as hangi, umu and barbecue fires.

Campers eventually leave

A group of campers who refused to leave a Department of Conservation campground did leave before police turned up. The group had partied whole night on Saturday on the DoC campground at Uretiti, just south of Whangārei, and were asked to leave yesterday morning. Police were called when they refused to leave but they had packed up and left by the time officers arrived.

Scrub fire controlled

A large scrub fire in the Far North that had been burning for four days was finally brought under control yesterday. Several fire crews were sent to the fire at Pipiwai Rd at Matawaia, south of Kaikohe, and they worked through the night. The fire, which burnt between 60 and 100 hectares of bush, was brought under control just before midday yesterday. There has been a restricted fire season in place in Northland since December 1.