A fire in Waipoua Forest has burned through 30 hectares of scrub as a team of 30 firefighters continue to ensure the blaze has been contained.
A surfer on the west coast near Kawerua, 14km south-east from the entrance to the Hokianga Harbour, raised the alarm after seeing smoke comingfrom scrub about 4.15pm yesterday.
Two helicopters worked until dark dumping monsoon bucket loads of water on to the fire. A land-based team stayed over night and today a team of 30 was working on hotspots and flare ups.
Doc community relations manager for Kauri Coast Karen Joyce-Paki said it was unsure how the fire started but it could be traced to a pampas bush in an area of logging slash, where pines had been cleared and scrub had started to grow back.
Ms Joyce-Paki said investigations into how the blaze was sparked would start yesterday.
"A popular walking track passes along the coast there and campers were in the area. It was actually a surfer that spotted the fire and raised the alarm."
She said the iconic kauri tree Tane Mahuta was not in any threat.
