Fire and Emergency NZ said four crews of firefighters supported by three helicopters were back at the Kūaotunu fire this morning with the air attack to focus on the western flank of the fire which was on steep and inaccessible terrain.
Ground crews would continue to work mopping up hotspots on the eastern and southern fronts.
The fire had not grown overnight and conditions were currently calm on the fireground, with winds forecast to pick up during the day.
Black Jack Rd will be under traffic management today with managed convoys in and out providing access for residents and those with essential business in the area.
In an update on Sunday night, Fenz said crews had stood down for the evening and would be back on site from 6am today while three helicopters would start work on the fire at 6.30am.
A helicopter involved in battling a vegetation fire on Black Jack Road, Kūaotunu in the Coromandel Peninsula. Photo: Coromandel's CFM/Supplied
Incident Controller Shane Bromley said the crews had done a great job on the fire on Sunday and it was now contained and under control.
“Crews extinguished hot spots on the east of the fire, but there are still active hot spots to the west of the fire, which will be the focus for operations tomorrow [Monday].”
Fire and Emergency NZ crews have been battling a vegetation fire on Black Jack Rd, Kūaotunu in the Coromandel Peninsula over the weekend. Photo: / Coromandel's CFM/Supplied
Black Jack Rd was open overnight but was likely to be under stop/go managed access again from about 6.30am today when operations started again, Bromley said.
Fire and Emergency also reminded locals to not use the walking track that goes through the fireground (shown in the yellow dotted line in the map).
Four ground crew and three helicopters battled the fire on Sunday while Black Jack Rd remained closed.
Crews focused on dampening down hotspots and the left-hand flank of the fire.
“While flames aren’t visible to the public, the fire is still smouldering,” Bromley said.
“The western side of the fire is inaccessible to ground crews, so we still have three helicopters working on that side of the fire.”
There have been no evacuations due to the fire, which is estimated at a size of about 600m by 600m. A strong southerly wind is blowing smoke from the fire out to sea.
“At this stage, it is not known how the fire started,” Bromley said.
Fire and Emergency said an investigation will take place to determine the cause.
