Controlled burnoffs getting out of hand are of concern to fire crews in Northland who have attended more than a dozen scrub fires since Friday.
Ruakaka firefighters were called to a burnoff on Crow Rd, Mata about 8.30pm on Saturday.
Ruakaka Fire Brigade station officer Jeff D'Ath said a man rang him up to seek permission to light a little bonfire which was given. Instead, scrub bulldozed into a pile in the middle of the paddock was set alight, setting a monstrous glow in the dark.
"It was quite safe but ... people don't know what's happening at night and the fire will look bigger," he said.
He urged those wishing to do controlled burning to light fires during the day.
