Fire at Northland reserve brought under control

A fire that swept through about 100ha of a Northland reserve has been brought under control, the Department of Conservation said today.

The fire broke out yesterday morning at Puwheke Recreational Reserve, on Karikari peninsula, north of Kaitaia.

It was brought under control last night and DOC fire crews from Kaitaia, the Bay of Islands and Whangarei were back in the area this morning dampening down hots spots, spokeswoman Carolyn Smith said.

She said the weather today was overcast, and there was a possibility of rain.

The cause of the fire was not yet known, but dry conditions in the Far North had made the fire risk critical.

Ms Smith said the fire's impact on the environment was still to be assessed.

The vegetation was mainly manuka shrubland, gorse and grass, with a scattering of pohutukawa.

Puwheke was also home to a variety of native birds including New Zealand dotterels, fernbirds, caspian terns, marsh crakes and shags, and to the native freshwater black mudfish.

"The New Zealand dotterels are endangered, but they are more down on the sand dune area," she said.

"As for the fernbirds and some of the other birds, generally they suss out what's going on and move. It's hard to say, but we don't imagine it will have had too great an impact on their numbers."

- NZPA