Fire crews making good progress as Whanganui River Rd fire continues to burn

Two helicopters are supporting fire crews to fight the fire in a pine forest on Whanganui River Rd. Photo / Lewis Gardner

A large fire in a pine forest on Whanganui River Rd is still burning today with two helicopters, four rural fire crews and a Department of Conservation fire crew continuing to fight the blaze.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) was called after the fire broke out near the road near Pungarehu Marae around 3.30pm on Saturday.

It is located about 4km along the Whanganui River Rd from State Highway 4.

Deputy principal rural fire officer Gavin Pryce said the fire is under control but is not yet contained.

"The terrain that we're dealing with is pine trees and scrub that is making it quite slow going for our ground crews so it is quite a long duration type of job to totally extinguish the fire."

The crews did not actively fight the fire overnight but continued to monitor it, Pryce said.

"Last night we saw a significant flare-up which we got on to this morning with helicopters."

Pryce said the current weather situation is not hampering the fire crews but is of concern with no rain forecast.

The wind is also of concern as it has picked up in the afternoons and is expected it to do the same today.

"We're just making sure we're really getting on top of all the hotspots and utilising the aircraft as best we can."

He said another aircraft is on standby.

"We are making really good progress this morning with the crews on the ground, slow going but it's good progress."

The fire started near the road not far from Pungarehu Marae. Photo / Lewis Gardner

A fire investigator was on the scene on Sunday to look for the cause but it is still undetermined, Pryce said.

A temporary 30km speed limit has been put in place along Whanganui River Rd and locals will be able to access or leave their properties through the road's stop-go management for a few minutes every hour.

The traffic management control is in place from the top of Gentle Annie Hill through to Parikino while helicopters carrying water buckets fly above.

Pryce said they are monitoring the traffic but advises anyone who does not need to travel on the road to avoid the area if possible.

There was another vegetation fire in Lilybank Rd, Brunswick, at about 2pm yesterday . It was extinguished in 40 minutes by an urban firefighting crew.