Firefighters have contained a truck fire on State Highway 1 carrying dog food supplies that caught fire north of Silverdale shortly after 1:30am. Video / NZ Herald
A Mainfreight truck caught fire on Auckland’s northern motorway early this morning, sending pallets of dog kibble up in smoke.
Northbound lanes on SH1 are still closed nearly six hours later, with roading crews still clearing cargo off the motorway, a police spokesperson said.
The closure is between the Silverdaleoff-ramp and the Grand Drive off-ramp, near Ōrewa.
“It’s expected these lanes should reopen later this morning.”
The Northern Motorway is closed for northbound traffic between Silverdale and Orewa to allow for recovery from a truck fire that occurred overnight. ^KF pic.twitter.com/DuUWFMFqdX
— NZ Transport Agency - Auckland & Northland (@nztaaklnth) March 11, 2026
Fire and Emergency received multiple calls around 1.30am saying the truck-and-trailer unit was ablaze near Wainui, about 1.8km north of the Silverdale off-ramp.
Northern shift manager Garreth Lewis said the truck was well involved in fire when the first crews arrived, and a second alarm was raised.
Five fire trucks and three water tankers attended, as well as a hazmat truck and foam tender.
“Initially we thought it was possibly chemicals on fire but ultimately that turned out to not be the case,” Lewis said. On closer inspection the contents were found to be food.
Fire and Emergency sent a hazmat truck, believing chemicals were on board, but the contents turned out to be pallets of dog food. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Lewis said the truck driver was unharmed.
As of 3.43am, the northbound on-ramp at Silverdale remained closed, with commuters asked to avoid the area or detour to the Orewa on-ramp.
A Herald photographer at the scene said pallets of dog food could be seen smouldering and burnt, along with the cab which was completely burnt out.
Firefighters had contained the fire to the truck and were working on hotspots, dampening them down with foam and water.
Crews were also using tankers to shuttle water to the scene.
Firefighters were using tools to remove charred material while others dampened hotspots and used thermal imaging cameras.
The Mainfreight truck caught fire around 1.30am, closing the northbound motorway. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Police, ambulance, motorway support and a heavy haulage tow truck were in attendance.
All northbound lanes were closed by two attenuator trucks diverting traffic off at Silverdale.
Lewis confirmed around 5.30am firefighters had extinguished the fire and had left the scene with police.
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