Ahipara fire a warning to all

Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor (left) and Ahipara CFO Dave Ross planning their attack on Sunday's fire. Photo / Peter Jackson

A fire that burned an estimated 20ha of scrub, bush and pasture on Ngakaroa Rd, off Roma Rd, inland from Ahipara, on Sunday was a warning for all according to the man who admitted responsibility for it.

Rueben Taipari Porter said the blaze began, "accidentally," as a very small rubbish fire. It caught into kikuyu, and within minutes was out of control.

Porter, who said he was the land owner, and responsible for the blaze, called the local fire brigade immediately. The alarm was raised with the Kaitaia Fire Brigade at 12.21pm.

Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor said the fire was "quite patchy" over a large area, but had posed a considerable threat to a number of houses. The Northland Age understood that eight homes were evacuated.

"Without the suppression that we were able to apply those houses would certainly have been lost," Taylor said.

"The fire intensity was some of the worst I have seen in Northland in 10 years, particularly at this time of year."

Two helicopters supported brigade crews from Ahipara, Kaitaia, Houhora, Karikari, Paihia and Kerikeri, but struggled to control the blaze. Two more helicopters arrived at about 5pm, and the ride began to turn.

The helicopters took water taken from a small dam nearby.

"We were lucky it was so close. If it hadn't been there, or had run out, it could have been a different story," Taylor added.

Smoke could be seen from Kaitaia, some 15km to the east by road, and attracted a lot of public attention, firefighters closing Ngakaroa Rd to traffic to prevent well-intentioned but ultimately unhelpful members of the public from offering to support them.

Porter said he had been surprised by just how dry his whānau land was, given its heavy clay loam soil, that was normally very wet at this time of year. His neighbours were equally surprised.

"Everybody needs to take this fire as an example of what summer is going to be like," he said.

"A fire ban should be declared before Labour Weekend. The ground and bush are so dry, and rivers are still so low."

A forestry crew of 12, one helicopter, a bulldozer and a digger were still at the scene yesterday, but Taylor wasn't counting his chickens.

"You can never say a fire like this is under control until it rains," he said, but the situation was in hand late yesterday morning, albeit with the heat of the day still to come.

The fire was within the zone where fire permits were needed year round, he added, but the fire that started this blaze had been exempted, and within the regulations.

The situation was complicated, however, by the presence of a number of "quite significant" archaeological sites in the area where the bulldozer was working, and a kaumātua was being consulted in the hope of avoiding damage.

Meanwhile Porter thank the many fire brigades, helicopter companies, St John and Rapid Response teams, Roma, Wainui and Manukau marae and hapū for immediate access to their facilities for the firefighters and the evacuated families.