Grass fire at Maxwell, Whanganui crews spend hours putting out blaze

Crews were at the site of the fire until about 11.30pm on Tuesday. Photo / Bevan Conley

Fire crews from the Whanganui area spent Tuesday evening battling a large grass fire in Maxwell.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze on State Highway 3 about 6.30pm when a caller reported a burn-off had got out of control.

The Whanganui Brigade and rural fire crews arrived to find flames engulfing the bank, stretching 300 metres by 100 metres.

A helicopter was requested for assistance but, due to the lack of daylight hours remaining, did not respond.

The blaze was contained soon after 9pm, with rural crews staying until 11.30pm to dampen down hot spots.

Firefighters planned to return to check the scene on Wednesday.