Smoke covers East Auckland as two blazes break out in one afternoon

Thick clouds of toxic black smoke have billowed into the skies over Auckland this afternoon as firefighters were scrambled to two separate commercial fires.

Plumes of black smoke were spotted coming from Bowden Rd, Mount Wellington, this afternoon.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were first alerted to the blaze at 3.20pm.

They said the fire was “well-involved” when crews first arrived but was quickly brought under control.

Locals on social media said the thick, black clouds from all around Auckland, including across the harbour in Pakuranga.

Four fire trucks were initially sent to the scene but as of 4.30pm only two remained.

Earlier, smoke was seen billowing from a metal processing plant in Papakura this afternoon after a piece of machinery caught fire.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were first alerted to the blaze on Hunua Rd about 2.30pm.

It was discovered when crews arrived that a metal shredding machine had caught fire, the spokesperson said.

The blaze was quickly controlled by firefighters and, as of 4pm, only two trucks remained on the scene dampening hotspots.