Northland fire fully contained as residents return to their homes

The Waipoua River fire in Northland has been fully contained.

The Waipoua River fire in Northland has been contained and evacuated families will be allowed back into their homes tonight.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Northland district manager Wipari Henwood said the 91ha blaze, in an isolated area of the Kaipara region, was fully contained over the weekend.

Firefighters have walked the perimeter of the fire which increased to 5.8km, he said.

There were still 96 firefighters on the ground during the day, and an overnight team monitoring hotspots, which were hoped to be dealt with before winds arrived from Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred lashing the Queensland coast.

“We’re really wanting to get this mopped up before this wind arrives on Tuesday,” Henwood said.

Three helicopters, four heavy machinery items, 50 ground crew and 15 incident management team personnel battled the Waipoua fire last week.

Twenty homes in the Waipoua settlement were evacuated on Wednesday night.

Some residents left via the beach, as flames blocked access to State Highway 12, before heading to Te Iwi o Te Roroa’s marae at Waikāra which was set up as a support centre.

The blaze was 50% contained by Friday.

Henwood said there was a community meeting with the evacuated families on Sunday morning, and they could return to their homes at 6pm.

However, there was a possibility that residents would have to re-evacuate with the impending bad weather, he said.

The Waipoua fire was in an isolated area of the Kaipara region.

Northland’s forecast is for north-westerlies on Monday, turning to fresh south-westerlies on Tuesday, with southerlies on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We always want the community prepared in case we have to evacuate them again and they understand what they can do if there is a flare-up,” Henwood said.

Families would be given information about how to handle potential flare-ups, Henwood said.

“They’re a bit nervous; it’s giving simple guidelines, if you see this, this is what you do, and this is how you can make your home resilient.”

Fire investigators are still probing the cause of the fire.

Incident commander Phil Larcombe said the fire didn’t get into native forest and Tāne Mahuta is safe.

Fires like these are tough for communities and firefighters alike, he said, and he thanked the community for their messages of support.

“We’d like to thank the local community and Te Roroa for their manaakitanga while we have been here.”

Henwood reiterated there was now a total fire ban across much of Northland.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand declared a prohibited fire season for the entire west coast of Northland and in the Far North from Friday.

The ban includes North and South Hokianga, and the Ripiro and Paparoa fire districts.

Any previously issued fire permits in those areas have been cancelled.

Fires can still be lit in eastern and central areas of Northland but only with a permit.

Visit www.checkitsalright.nz for more information.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.