Firefighters battle to reach Wellington bushfire

A suspicious fire in bush near the Wellington suburb of Brooklyn burned for more than three hours overnight as firefighters struggled to reach the scene.

Firefighters were called to the blaze in bush surrounding Happy Valley and Landfill Roads, around 4am, Wellington fire communications shift manager Mike Wanoa said.

Local fire appliances could not reach the scene, he said.

"It was inaccessible to the firetrucks so we had to call in the rural fire force."

The rural team was able to reach the fire on foot, he said.

"Most of the fire was subdued last night but they had a helicopter on standby early this morning to finish it off."

Firefighters would continue to watch over the scene this morning, he said.

The fire was thought to be suspicious and had been reported to police.

Mr Wanoa said the area was damp due to heavy rain and that "quite possibly played a big part" in containing the blaze.

- NZPA