Auckland’s North Shore residents report strong smell of smoke

Residents from across Auckland’s North Shore woke to a strong smell of burning this morning, with smoke reported to be drifting across large swathes of the area.

Locals said the smell had been in the air since the early hours of this morning and described it as smelling like wood smoke.

“I thought someone was having a BBQ breakfast,” one Devonport resident offered on social media.

An image supplied to the Herald, taken by drone over Birkenhead, showed a smoky haze coming from the west.

Drone photograph showing smoke drifting across the North Shore. Photo / Supplied

“Smells like bonfires,” a Beach Haven resident said, while another reported smelling smoke across the bridge in the CBD.

Firefighters in Helensville told the Herald that the smoke was coming from a burnoff of pine trees at a private property.

“It will probably burn all day, he is entitled to burn it,” the Chief Fire Officer said.

He added that the fire seems “perfectly okay” and there was no need to attempt to extinguish it.

“Wind is blowing the smoke away.”

A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency NZ said the controlled burn was of two large piles at a Coatesville property and was scheduled to burn until 9 pm tonight.