Large scrub fire in Tahorakuri Forest near Taupō controlled after three helicopters help battle blaze

A large scrub fire in the Tahorakuri Forest area between Rotorua and Taupō is now contained and crews are back on the ground today.

The vegetation blaze on Te Toke Rd was reported to fire crews about 12.40pm on Wednesday.

Helicopters helped battle a scrub fire in Tahorakuri Forest near Taupō today.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand this morning said the fire covered 19ha with a 2.1km perimeter.

“We have one ground crew working to reinforce the control line with one tanker there as support.

“There will be two excavators on site this morning to assist.

“At this stage there will be no air operations today.”

Broadlands Rd resident Alix Lattey told the Rotorua Daily Post on Wednesday she was working from home when the fire began.

Fire at Tahorakuri Forest in the Taupō District. Photo / Supplied

“I saw it over the other side of the [Waikato] river and then the plumes of smoke got a lot bigger... quite quickly.”

Unsure if it was a controlled scrub burn, she “took a bit of a drive up the road towards River Rd just to see how close it was to the river”.

She said she was concerned for her property and others nearby.

“There’s a few homesteads on the other side of the river,” she said.

She had seen reports that it had “just missed a house”.

She said the plumes of smoke reduced during the afternoon.

Fire and Emergency said 12 crews, three helicopters and around 32 firefighters had battled the fire on Wednesday.

Brigades from Taupō and Tokoroa attended and police helped with traffic management.

There were no evacuations reported.