Houses threatened as flames race up hill near Kaeo Bridge; rider airlifted to hospital.
A motorcycle crash near Kaeo sparked a scrub fire which threatened up to three homes before it was brought under control by firefighters and helicopters using monsoon buckets.
The rider crashed on State Highway 10, north of Kaeo and about 500m south of the Kaeo Bridge, around 2.15pm yesterday.
The Buell motorcycle then caught fire and ignited roadside scrub.
In the afternoon heat the flames spread quickly through bush on a steep hillside towards a number of homes.
The 45-year-old rider's injuries were initially regarded as serious but her condition improved by the time she was loaded on to the Northland Rescue Helicopter, which had landed at the nearby Kaeo Rugby Club.
Kaeo fire chief Lindsay Murray said he could see the smoke even as he was leaving home so he called for a helicopter and backup straight away.
The heat was intense enough to melt metal on the crashed Buell. Photo / Peter de Graaf
There were just two firefighters on the first truck but they received valuable assistance from the public, who helped roll out hoses and control traffic until other crews arrived from Kerikeri, Mangonui and Cavalli Rural Fire.
Four helicopters fought the flames, filling their monsoon buckets from the Kaeo River just upstream from the bridge.
The fire was brought under control and the choppers were stood down at 3.20pm, leaving ground crews to dampen down the hot spots.
Traffic backs up on State Highway 10 as a helicopter fights the flames using a monsoon bucket filled in Kaeo River. Photo / Peter de Graaf
State Highway 10 was closed until 4pm with southbound traffic diverted via Whangaroa Rd.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
Meanwhile, an angler had to be been rescued earlier in the day after a fall on a rugged stretch of coast near Cape Reinga.
The Northland Rescue Helicopter lifts off from Kaeo Rugby Club with the injured rider on board. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Emergency services were alerted to the accident, which occurred on rocks at Spirits Bay or Kapowairua, around 11am. The 28-year-old dislocated a shoulder in the tumble.
The Northland Rescue Helicopter winched the patient from rocks near the eastern end of the beach about 12.30pm.
Spirits Bay has been the scene of regular rescues in the past, often when people attempt to climb the cliffs beyond the campground.
One such rescue, by the Whangārei-based LandSAR cliff rescue team, took place late at night on December 19 after a 21-year-old Auckland man got stuck on a narrow ledge about 40m up the cliff on the first day of a Northland road trip.
