An Official Information Act request to Fire and Emergency New Zealand for the rural fire report into February's large blaze on Waimarama Rd has been declined, for now.
The fire broke out on Monday, February 13, and spread quickly, prompting a three-day state of emergency for the Hastings district, and called on the resources of multiple fire crews to battle the blaze.
By Thursday, February 16, heavy rain assisted firefighters' efforts but not before 162ha of countryside was left blackened and one house was burnt to the ground.
At the time there was speculation about the cause of the fire, which included arcing power lines, but New Zealand Fire Service director in the office of the chief executive Leigh Deuchars said no information about the cause of the blaze would be released until after this September.
The reason for withholding the document was to avoid prejudice or disadvantage to certain negotiations about costs incurred with the event, she said.