Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northland Age

Fire 'an act of blatant stupidity'

By Peter de Graaf
Northland Age·
14 Dec, 2015 07:42 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

SUPPORT: A helicopter at work at Ngawha on Sunday, supporting ground crews from Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kerikeri. PICTURE/DEBBIE BEADLE

SUPPORT: A helicopter at work at Ngawha on Sunday, supporting ground crews from Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kerikeri. PICTURE/DEBBIE BEADLE

Police are still investigating a major fire west of Ngawha on Sunday, but principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor has already labelled it the result of a "blatant act of stupidity".

The blaze burned within metres of destroying a home, forced the evacuation of at least a dozen more and closed SH12 for several hours. It started at about 12.40pm in scrub next to a pine forest and behind a row of about 20 homes along State Highway 12, adjacent to the Kaikohe cemetery and just west of Ngawha.

The highway was closed at Ohaeawai, with a second road block at Ngawha Springs Road, and at Te Pua Road, just outside Kaikohe.

Police told residents closest to the fire to leave their homes and remove their vehicles. Most gathered on a hilltop near the cemetery to wait nervously as four helicopters, filling their monsoon buckets from farm dams and effluent ponds, dumped load after load of water on the flames.

At its height the fire was just 10m from the home of elderly resident Ed Wihongi. He was not home but his dog and cattle were there. A fire appliance was stationed next to his home to protect it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Tracey Albert was playing the part of Santa at an Ohaeawai-Taiamai Residents' Association Christmas party when a cousin texted her, asking if she liked her steak barbecued and advising her to rescue her horse.

She ditched her Santa costume and raced home but was not allowed on to the property. The horse, which was in the corner furthest from the fire, appeared unharmed.

Len Beckham had 10 grandchildren visiting when police told him to evacuate, mainly because of the thick smoke. He was in such a hurry to get his mokopuna to safety he forgot about his pig dogs, and was hoping they were okay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One resident said he heard a loud whoosh, like a skyrocket going off, just before the fire started, another, who did not want to give his name, saying he had been accused of letting off a flare. He believed the fire had been started by a lightning strike.

About 3.20pm a large bulldozer arrived, and, with two diggers, began carving out a firebreak behind the houses. By 4pm the fire was contained and three of the four helicopters were stood down, but Mr Taylor said it could be days before the fire was fully under control. Firefighters would stay at the scene overnight and spend the next few days mopping up and extinguishing hot spots.

An investigation was continuing, but it appeared the fire was the result of a "blatant act of stupidity", he said.

It was fortunate the wind was blowing towards the road and not towards Ngawha prison, where it could have forced a major evacuation.

The fire had covered covered an area of about six hectares, but only half a hectare of pine forest was lost, thanks to the efforts of the helicopter crews from Paihia and Whangarei.

The choppers were aided on the ground by crews from the Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kerikeri fire brigades, and Kaikohe Rural Fire.

People were still ignoring the fire danger, Mr Taylor said, warning that recent rain had done little to reduce the risk.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

'Overly rigid': Insulation rules changed to cut building costs in Far North

09 Jul 12:00 AM
Northland Age

'Pretty low': Burglary leaves trades students without tools

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Northland Age

Far North news in brief: Bottled water recall, writing competition for Year 13 students

07 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

'Overly rigid': Insulation rules changed to cut building costs in Far North

'Overly rigid': Insulation rules changed to cut building costs in Far North

09 Jul 12:00 AM

The Government plans to ease insulation rules in the Far North soon.

'Pretty low': Burglary leaves trades students without tools

'Pretty low': Burglary leaves trades students without tools

07 Jul 06:00 PM
Far North news in brief: Bottled water recall, writing competition for Year 13 students

Far North news in brief: Bottled water recall, writing competition for Year 13 students

07 Jul 05:00 PM
Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

07 Jul 02:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP