Kaitaia Fire Brigade deputy Chief Fire Officer Ross Beddows agreed that the fire that broke out in forest slash at Lake Ngatu on Sunday afternoon looked spectacular, but was actually contained within a ti-tree and raupo/fern swamp surrounded by farmland.
It was a controlled, permitted burn, he said. The property owner was there with heavy machinery, but a strong south-easterly wind whipped up some embers and the scrub adjacent caught alight.
"We kept an eye on it for an hour, but after discussing the situation with the land owner it was decided to let it burn itself out, which it was well on its way to doing by the time the crews left just after dark."
The owner had called the brigade as a precaution, given the proximity of Te Hiku Forest, he added.
That call was one of seven for the Kaitaia brigade over the weekend, the others including three false alarms, the last being a macrocarpa tree that had been set alight in the Ahipara area shortly before midnight on Sunday.
