Waipoua fire: 70 hectares ablaze, residents evacuated to marae

Smoke from the fire. Photo / Karen Thoresen & Eric Wright

• Dozens of Waipoua Settlement residents may be out of their homes for a week due to a large fire.
• The fire covers more than 70ha, with seven helicopters and firefighters working to contain it.
• No homes have been damaged but residents face a nervous wait as containment could take seven days.

By RNZ

Dozens of residents from the Waipoua Settlement in Northland could be forced to leave their homes for a week, as a large fire continues to rage in grassland and pine forest nearby.

Residents have been sent to the nearby Waikarā Marae, which has been set up as a support centre.

As of Wednesday last night, the blaze covered more than 70ha, with about a 5km perimeter.

Fire and Emergency said it saved 20 homes from being engulfed by flames, with the aid of seven helicopters with monsoon buckets working to douse the properties.

No homes have been damaged so far and no one has been injured.

But residents face a nervous wait, as crews expect the fire to take up to seven days to be contained.

Ten firefighters have been monitoring the fireground overnight.

An additional 40 firefighters will arrive on Thursday with plans to use heavy machinery to create fire breaks.

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