Fire crews are back at the scene of a massive fire in South Auckland.
New images taken this afternoon showed the damage caused after the fire ignited on South Auckland’s Māngere Mountain.
While the fire was thought to be extinguished, firefighters were called back to the area this afternoon. It is understood parts of the fire field have flared up again.
A neighbour told the Herald the mountain appears to be “smoking again”.
Ryan Munokoa, 11, told the Herald the fire was “quite scary”.
He thought anyone responsible for lighting the fire was “dumb”.
He said he saw several people running away from the area after the smoke started this afternoon, and when they could hear sirens approaching.
“It was massive,” he said of the fire.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said a scrub fire had broken out again on the mountain.
“Three crews and a water tanker are at the scene of the blaze on the mountain’s ridge which started at about 3.15pm.”
Firefighters were working to contain the 30m by 30m blaze.
The grass fire first broke out on Saturday night and firefighters were called to the scene just before 9.30pm.
Nineteen crews fought the blaze, which spread across more than 3ha.
Two crews remained on site overnight.
Dozens of firefighters spent hours battling the vegetation fire on the South Auckland maunga. It was almost completely contained before dawn.
The impact of the fire went far beyond just nearby residents, who received an early-morning emergency mobile alert about the incident, but also affected people up to 40km to the west.
“A fire on Māngere Mountain overnight, coupled with an easterly wind, has pushed smoke over western Auckland as far as Piha,” Waitematā Fire and Emergency wrote on Facebook this morning as part of a “smoke advisory”.
At its peak, the fire’s glowing red and orange flames and thick, grey smoke could be seen from kilometres away
An emergency mobile alert was sent to those living within 2km southwest of the maunga but has since been lifted, Fire and Emergency Counties Manukau wrote on their Facebook page.
“The fire at Māngere Mountain is now almost fully contained,” a post fromaround 4am said.
“Crews will continue to work ... into the day to fully extinguish the fire.”
Although the emergency mobile alert had been lifted, there was still smoke in the area this morning.
“If you are affected, please keep windows and doors closed and seek medical attention if you are feeling unwell due to smoke.”
When the fire was first reported it was about 1ha in size.
The fire had spread to cover around 3ha by 12.40am, Fire and Emergency Counties Manukau assistant commander Dale Tawa said.
At its peak, around 50 firefighters were battling the blaze, including two tankers, as well as crews in 4WDs from Hūnua due to challenges regarding access.
“This is quite a big fire for a suburban area; unfortunately, it’s not foreign to this maunga.”
Fire and Emergency had been told the blaze was caused by a bonfire on top of the maunga.
“The initial reports indicated that people were seen lighting the fire, but when we arrived, we couldn’t find anyone on-site.”
Police were on the scene, and Auckland Council and iwi have been told about the fire, he said.
Iwi and the council co-govern maunga across Tāmaki Makaurau through the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
Tawa warned Aucklanders to take “absolute care and [make] considerations” around fires.
“As people should be aware, we are currently in a restricted fire season. Since Friday, we have been on high alert, and we are not yet out of the danger zone.
“High winds are still expected over the next few days, and we are uncertain if we will receive the predicted rainfall.”
The blaze is the second major fire in Auckland this weekend, after firefighters were called to the multimillion-dollar former site of the Centrepoint commune early on Saturday.
The abandoned site has been used by squatters recently, a fire chief said yesterday.
Survivors of the controversial spiritual commune – including those who lived there as Centrepoint children in the 1970s and 1980s – have previously spoken of harrowing experiences at the 7.62ha site in Albany.
Centrepoint, which was shut down in 2000, was led by late convicted sex offender Bert Potter.
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