Fire 'an act of blatant stupidity'

SUPPORT: A helicopter at work at Ngawha on Sunday, supporting ground crews from Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kerikeri. PICTURE/DEBBIE BEADLE

Police are still investigating a major fire west of Ngawha on Sunday, but principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor has already labelled it the result of a "blatant act of stupidity".

The blaze burned within metres of destroying a home, forced the evacuation of at least a dozen more and closed SH12 for several hours. It started at about 12.40pm in scrub next to a pine forest and behind a row of about 20 homes along State Highway 12, adjacent to the Kaikohe cemetery and just west of Ngawha.

The highway was closed at Ohaeawai, with a second road block at Ngawha Springs Road, and at Te Pua Road, just outside Kaikohe.

Police told residents closest to the fire to leave their homes and remove their vehicles. Most gathered on a hilltop near the cemetery to wait nervously as four helicopters, filling their monsoon buckets from farm dams and effluent ponds, dumped load after load of water on the flames.

At its height the fire was just 10m from the home of elderly resident Ed Wihongi. He was not home but his dog and cattle were there. A fire appliance was stationed next to his home to protect it.

Tracey Albert was playing the part of Santa at an Ohaeawai-Taiamai Residents' Association Christmas party when a cousin texted her, asking if she liked her steak barbecued and advising her to rescue her horse.

She ditched her Santa costume and raced home but was not allowed on to the property. The horse, which was in the corner furthest from the fire, appeared unharmed.

Len Beckham had 10 grandchildren visiting when police told him to evacuate, mainly because of the thick smoke. He was in such a hurry to get his mokopuna to safety he forgot about his pig dogs, and was hoping they were okay.

One resident said he heard a loud whoosh, like a skyrocket going off, just before the fire started, another, who did not want to give his name, saying he had been accused of letting off a flare. He believed the fire had been started by a lightning strike.

About 3.20pm a large bulldozer arrived, and, with two diggers, began carving out a firebreak behind the houses. By 4pm the fire was contained and three of the four helicopters were stood down, but Mr Taylor said it could be days before the fire was fully under control. Firefighters would stay at the scene overnight and spend the next few days mopping up and extinguishing hot spots.

An investigation was continuing, but it appeared the fire was the result of a "blatant act of stupidity", he said.

It was fortunate the wind was blowing towards the road and not towards Ngawha prison, where it could have forced a major evacuation.

The fire had covered covered an area of about six hectares, but only half a hectare of pine forest was lost, thanks to the efforts of the helicopter crews from Paihia and Whangarei.

The choppers were aided on the ground by crews from the Kaikohe, Okaihau and Kerikeri fire brigades, and Kaikohe Rural Fire.

People were still ignoring the fire danger, Mr Taylor said, warning that recent rain had done little to reduce the risk.