Karikari still burning after Monday's arson; end date set for Kaimaumau firefighting operation

The Karikari fire as seen from Cable Bay. Photo / Ian Ivey

A deliberately lit fire that has swept through 70ha of conservation and farm land on the Karikari Peninsula since Monday is likely to take until the weekend to extinguish.

News from the giant Kaimaumau fire, however, is more positive, with fire bosses setting a date of February 7 for when they hope to wrap up firefighting operations.

Crews will remain for a few more weeks after that to keep an eye on the fire ground.

Underground peat is expected to continue smouldering until the next major rain event.

Investigators believe the Karikari blaze started in a layby off Inland Rd, directly opposite Ramp Rd, when someone lit a pile of illegally dumped rubbish.

Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) Northland commander Wipari Henwood said he was confident the fire in the Department of Conservation estate was contained, but the flames had spread into a former wetland valley in neighbouring farmland.

Up to 8ha of underground peat had ignited and was proving difficult to extinguish, especially in the current hot, dusty and windy conditions.

On Wednesday the wind was blowing about 35-40km/h with gusts of 70km/h, which was causing spot fires in the surrounding area.

About 30 firefighters with two trucks and two tankers were fighting the fire on Wednesday.

Henwood said that would be beefed up on Thursday with extra resources from the Kaimaumau fire.

''It's a mongrel of a fire. We could be there the whole weekend,'' he said.

Police had been notified of the fire, which was directly across Inland Rd from a huge blaze triggered by a car crashing into a power pole in 2019.

The Karikari Peninsula is subject to a year-round fire ban.

Another suspicious blaze on the peninsula in 2011 claimed the lives of two people.

Police are investigating a 70ha Karikari blaze caused by a rubbish fire in a layby on Inland Rd. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Meanwhile, Henwood said the firefighting operation at the 2800ha Kaimaumau wetland fire north of Kaitaia was being de-escalated.

Fenz was aiming to have most of its personnel off the fire ground by February 7, and was gradually handing the area back to the community, DoC and iwi.

Some fire crews would stay to monitor the site for hotspots with drone-mounted thermal imaging cameras.

The fire would continue to burn in peat underground for some time but he was confident it could no longer ''get out of the box''.

The area was still relatively wet so peat was burning down to the water table then going out. Most of the peat fires were now on the perimeter.

Heavy rain would be needed to extinguish it fully.

The fire transition plan included community education on how to deal with the ''what ifs'', Henwood said.