"The closest house would have been maybe 50m away.
"Over the period of about half an hour it just started taking off in all directions with the wind circling."
Firefighters dampen down the hill. Photo / Paul Taylor
"It looked like it would start to die out, it was mainly smoke, and then a new flame would pop up."
He said at one point the flames got as close as five metres from one property, and he could see the resident trying to keep it at bay using a bucket.
Firefighters are at the scene of the fire in Bay View. Photo / Paul Taylor
Fire service assistant area commander Nigel Hall said it took about 30 minutes to get the fire, which started just before 10am, under control.
Resident of two properties had to temporarily evacuate their houses but were allowed back in shortly after.
"The members of public when we arrived were of great assistance."
The homeowner had given them access to his swimming pool to extinguished the fire from the top, Hall said.
He said the cause of the fire was not yet known, however wanted to remind people to check fire restrictions on the fire services website before lighting any fire.
Currently residents of rural areas of Napier require a permit to light a fire.
