Battling the Hastings fires is likely to have cost around $1 million, says Hastings District Council.
Although the council will stump up the money initially, it will apply to have the costs reimbursed by the National Rural Fire Authority, said spokeswoman Diane Joyce.
Ms Joyce said it was still too early to provide a more detailed estimate of the total cost. She said some of the larger costs were known; $360,000 was spent on helicopters on Monday and Tuesday.
Other costs, such as the fire retardant and fuel for the vehicles were unknown as yet.
The rural fire authority will chase down anyone if found to be liable for the fire's ignition.
