Unpermitted fire cost $5000 to extinguish

Principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor

A landowner at Te Tii in the northern Bay of Islands faces a bill of at least $5000 after an unpermitted fire had to be put out by a helicopter using a monsoon bucket.

It is thought vegetation was being cleared for a house site on Wharengaere Rd when the blaze got out of control about 1.30pm on Sunday, covering an area of about 100m by 30m.

The helicopter, backed by volunteers from the Kerikeri Fire Brigade, was needed for about two hours.

Principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor said the fire was the result of a lack of understanding of how dangerous the conditions were, with dry vegetation fanned by a strong wind, and failure to get a permit.

Earlier, a fire at Puha Rd in Waima, South Hokianga, took more than 24 hours to extinguish. Kaikohe fire chief Bill Hutchinson said Friday afternoon's fire spread into about 1ha of old gorse on steep, inaccessible terrain. Two houses were put at risk.

Kaikohe volunteers spent about three hours getting the fire under control, aided by a helicopter, before handing over to rural firefighters and a contract crew overnight. Another crew finished putting out hotspots on Saturday. Mr Taylor said it appeared the Waima blaze had been started by an unsupervised rubbish fire. In that case he was also hoping to recover significant firefighting costs.

A restricted fire season came into force across the Far North on October 22. Permits are needed for any outdoor rural fire, with the exception of barbecues, hangi and umu, and will need to meet strict conditions. Detailed conditions can be found at www.havingafire.org.nz