Northland's restricted fire season got off to a bad start after an out-of-control rubbish fire swept across a paddock on parched farmland in the Far North.
Three fire trucks with 15 volunteer firefighters from Kerikeri and Okaihau attended the blaze yesterday, which was located down a long driveway on Weka Lane, off Lodore Rd, about 5km from Kerikeri airport.
The fire was called in at 12.40pm by the property owner, who was burning paddock waste.
![An out-of-control rubbish fire swept across a paddock on parched farmland between Kerikeri and Okaihau on Wednesday. Photo / Jenny Ling](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4ZQEBZSGSKEMXPWYC7BHAHWAZI.jpg?auth=9296b009d98625e1aabb9fa8e0675bc4d93de7f9508d54e656c95a6c9adb31df&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
Okaihau fire chief Andrew Graham said the 100m by 70m rubbish fire could have been much worse had it got to neighbouring paddocks with long grass.