Waimarama grass fire latest in spate of suspicious fires around Hawke's Bay

Crews from Havelock North Fire Brigade attended a suspicious grass fire on Waimarama Rd on Wednesday afternoon. Photo / Warren Buckland

A suspicious fire at a rural property near Waimarama Rd is the latest in spate around the region during a prohibited fire season.

Firefighters were called to a grass fire on a parched paddock near Mataura Rise shortly before 1pm on Wednesday.

One fire truck from the Havelock North Fire Brigade attended and it took firefighters about one and a half hours to ensure it was fully extinguished.

The cause of the fire was yet to be determined but it was being treated as suspicious, a Fire and Emergency spokesman said.

Hawke's Bay Fire and Emergency area commander Ken Cooper said the rise in suspicious fires in recent weeks was of concern.

"Hawke's Bay at the moment has seen a significant rise in deliberately lit suspicious fires in rural and urban environments," he said.

Cooper said he was are confident police will be able to capture those behind the fires soon.

The fire measured about 40 sq m in size and occurred at a time when the region is in a total fire ban. Photo / Warren Buckland

He said FENZ and New Zealand Police were working with community groups to try and establish a cause of the incidents.

"We believe the urban fires are connected, but we are working the police.

"We have a lot of cameras set up around the rural areas and are quite confident police will apprehend those responsible soon.

"The police have people of interest that they will speak to and a lot of rural properties have security cameras which help to piece together movements, which is what we're doing at the moment."

There were also security cameras being installed in forestry blocks around the region, he said.

Hawke's Bay is currently in a prohibited fire season, meaning all outdoor fires are banned but firefighters have still been kept busy, responding to two rubbish fires around Hastings on Wednesday morning.

Two appliances from Hastings Fire Station were called to one which had spread to grass around the Flaxmere community garden at 10.24am.

Two fire trucks and two tankers also attended a fire along State Highway 51, Awatoto at 6.41am.

A small bush fire on Auckland Rd in Greenmeadows, Napier, was extinguished by a resident with a bucket of water at 6.43pm on Tuesday.