Kūaotunu fire: Crews continue to battle blaze that cut off Coromandel day trippers

Firefighters continue to battle a scrub fire that cut off carloads of day trippers in two isolated Coromandel bays yesterday afternoon.

Three helicopters and four ground crews continue work on the Black Jack Road, Kūaotunu, fire today, Fire and Emergency incident controller Shane Bromley said.

“Black Jack Rd will be closed all day today with stop go traffic management supporting access for residents. There will be periods of total road closure to allow our firefighters to work safely.”

“We will let everyone know when the road reopens.”

Bromley said there have been no evacuations due to the fire, which is estimated to be about 600m x 600m.

A strong southerly wind is blowing smoke from the fire out to sea.

It is not known how the fire started at this stage. An investigation will take place to determine the cause.

Helicopters battling the blaze were grounded yesterday evening at 8.30pm.

The fire was burning through pine slash and regrowth, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said.

Fire crews battling the blaze. Photo / Chris Larcombe

A fire is burning on Black Jack Road in Coromandel. Photo / Emily Clarke

Daytrippers feared getting trapped

Tarah Spyve told the Herald she could not drive back along Black Jack Rd because of the fire. She later said firefighters began allowing cars through five at a time at about 8.30pm.

While Spyve was trapped, she said there was no shop to buy food from.

A local allowed those stranded into their home to fill up water bottles, she said.

A Fire and Emergency spokeswoman said the fire service would be closing Black Jack Rd overnight. She said Fire and Emergency was not aware of anyone being trapped by the road closure.

A witness told the Herald he could see flames atop the hills between Kūaotunu and Ōtama Beach. Photo / Connor Le Vert

Police were also unaware of reports of people being trapped and were not involved in responding to the blaze, a spokeswoman said.

A witness told the Herald he could see flames atop the hills between Kūaotunu and Ōtama Beach. He described “huge smoke” billowing from the fire.

He said motorists were being stopped from driving down Black Jack Rd.

A holidaymaker in the area could see the flames and smoke while he was out on the water.

Smoke from the fire. Photo / Leanne Davies

“It’s like a volcano,” Connor Le Vert told the Herald.

Le Vert described the smoke as being a yellow colour and said he could see bright red flames on the top of the hill.

“We can see smoke coming out. There’s a tonne of smoke coming off,” Le Vert said.

“We could see flames, bright red flames at the top of the hill. We saw firefighters climbing up the hill.”