Strike a light and pay the bill

METER'S RUNNING: Lighting fires, deliberately or accidentally, could in future prove very expensive.

Fire authorities are warning that as of Saturday they will dispatch a helicopter at the first sign of smoke anywhere in the Far North - and they'll be sending the bill to whoever struck the match.

The warning came after firefighters spent several days dousing a blaze at Pouto, south of Dargaville, and managed to save a pine plantation south of Kaikohe from a suspicious blaze.

The Northern Rural Fire Authority, which is in charge of the fire-prone Far North, is still holding off from imposing a total fire ban, but Principal Rural Fire Officer Myles Taylor said the danger was approaching a "tipping point." He was keeping his options open in case rain arrived in the next two weeks, but in the meantime no new fire permits would be issued. Anyone who already held a permit had been informed that as of Saturday every fire would be treated as non-permitted.

A restricted fire season, which means a permit is required for any fire other than barbecues or hangi, has been in force in the Far North since December 8.

Meanwhile Mr Taylor said as of Saturday fire appliances and a helicopter would be dispatched at the first sign of smoke anywhere in the Far North, at the fire starter's cost. If it was windy two helicopters would be sent.

The cost of operating a helicopter is about $2000 an hour. Even if the chopper was not needed a callout cost about $800.

Mr Taylor said some rain was expected this weekend, but it was unlikely to do more than "wet the dust."

His real concern was a predicted increase in wind, a major factor behind Northland wildfires.

He praised Northlanders for their care and heightened fire awareness, however, saying this summer had been markedly different to previous fire seasons.

"The public have been extraordinarily well behaved, and letting us know whenever they see smoke," he said.

"We don't want to remove people's right to light fires so we're keeping our options open.

"If conditions become safer we'll start issuing permits again.

"We're not counting our chickens yet though. The fire season has another three months to run, and a very dry autumn is a possibility."

Kaikohe firefighters stopped a blaze spreading into a pine plantation near Awarua, 10km south of Kaikohe, in the early hours of Monday morning. Chief Fire Officer Bill Hutchinson said the blaze started in scrub on the edge of the forest, two volunteer crews backed by a rural fire tanker managing to prevent the flames from reaching the trees.

A Whangarei-based forestry crew spent Monday dampening down.

Mr Taylor said it had been a "really good save." Evidence suggesting that the fire had been deliberately lit had been handed to police.