Fire smoulders on near Taihape

Paul Chaffe was trying out a camera-wielding drone in 2014. PHOTO/ FILE

A fire that tied up five fire trucks and two tankers near Taihape on Wednesday night flared up again next day and will smoulder for a while yet, Principal Rural Fire Officer Paul Chaffe says.

Firefighters were called at 7.20pm on Wednesday after wind spread fire from a pile being burned by a farmer. It went into trees and over a near-vertical bank of the Hautapu River.

"When we got there it was really going," Taihape Chief Fire Officer Alan Troon said.

Taihape firefighters were joined by the Mangaweka crew with their tanker, the Marton water tanker and three rural fire crews. They didn't get away until around 10.30pm.

An area about 30m by 50m was burned.

The fire flared up again next day, with Taihape and the Mangaweka tanker attending again around 3pm. A drone was used to look over the bank and see what was happening.

Principal Rural Fire Officer Paul Chaffe said the continued burning was within the area already burned, so the fire couldn't spread.

He thought it would smoulder on for a few days yet, with a bit of smoke occasionally visible from SH1.

The fire comes earlier than usual in the spring/summer season. The riverbank it spread to was sheltered from rain and dried by wind.

"It's a reminder that north and west facing slopes with lots of dead matter can burn at pretty much any time," Mr Chaffe said.