Anaru Nepia works in sweltering heat to break up burning logs before they are wet down by fellow firefighters following along behind. Photo / John Stone
Anaru Nepia works in sweltering heat to break up burning logs before they are wet down by fellow firefighters following along behind. Photo / John Stone
Residents on the fringes of a massive Northland forest fire had their bags packed with their most precious possessions and were ready to evacuate last night as firefighters battled to contain the blaze.
The fire, which is being treated as suspicious, was reported at 11.30pm on Monday by residents along Kellys Bay Rd in the Kaipara area. Steep terrain had made it difficult for the 70 staff on scene to tackle the blaze from the ground and it had covered 205ha by late yesterday.
Officials monitoring the fire said the fire was not yet contained and a forecast which predicted 60km/h winds from the north-west overnight meant residents in three houses were on evacuation standby.
One of those residents was Cyril Ranginui who, with his wife Juliet, saw flames leaping from the tops of pines trees on Tuesday morning about 100m from their home, where they have lived for 25 years. He was woken by firefighters first on the scene about 1am who told them there was a fire in the neighbouring commercial pine plantation managed by PF Olsen.
"I went around the rest of the neighbours and alerted them. I woke them all up," Mr Ranginui said.
He went through his property and loaded all flammable items on a trailer and parked it away from the house. Then they began the task of packing their most precious items.
"The wife took half a day to pack the stuff she wanted. Of course that was family photos and all our important documents. I loaded up my fishing rods and reels," he said. "It's not very nice to be in this position ... it's quite scary. It's a threatening situation and my wife was very upset."
He praised the efforts of the firefighters who had come to him and told him: "We will look after your home." In turn he had fed them with scones made by his wife and grapes from his extensive garden at the home.
Three years ago the couple had gone through the same process but were able to stay because the fire stopped at the back of their property.
Five more fire crews from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Coromandel were due to arrive at the fire scene today to relieve those who have been working since it started four days ago.
Incident controller John Sutton said about 100 people were involved in fighting the fire or organising logistics. He said because the fire had started at night it took hold as it was too dangerous to have firefighters or helicopters working.
Cyril Ranginui holds onto family photos he and his wife Juliet are taking with them if they have to evacuate their home. Photo / John Stone
"The fire made two major runs up two valleys and got a hold. It went from four hectares to 180 very rapidly."
On Tuesday and Wednesday four helicopters were taking water in monsoon buckets from a nearby lake and the sea to dump on the blaze. But Mr Sutton said yesterday the fire was not yet contained.
"This is a high-risk fire because of the terrain and lack of access. The change of wind could cause problems and spread into an older forest and then scrublands."
Mr Sutton said the day was about putting in fire containment lines using crews, diggers and bulldozers. He said there was plenty of fuel for the fire to burn with prunings on the ground along with slash from previous harvests. Once the fire was under control he expected crews to be mopping up hotspots for at least another week.
The crews were camping in tents at Rangitane Community Hall and staying in the Waikaretu marae. It is the fourth fire on the Pouto Peninsula in as many months.
