Seven people were rescued on Wednesday following a fire at West Auckland's Anawhata beach. Photo / Doug Sherring
Firefighters have resumed fighting a blaze in bush near a West Auckland beach, where seven people were successfully rescued yesterday.
Helicopters are back in the air and ground crews have returned to extinguish the fire at Anawhata Beach that began more than 12 hours ago.
Seven people had to be rescued after a fire broke out at the beach on Wednesday evening.
It’s the second fire to break out in the Waitākere Ranges this week.
Fire and Emergency said it was notified of the blaze on Anawhata Beach just before 5.30pm.
Eight fire trucks, three helicopters and multiple support vehicles were called to the blaze.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson told the Herald that crews have returned to the fire ground this morning, with three helicopters in the air working to extinguish it.
Surf Lifesaving New Zealand (SLSNZ) confirmed Piha surf lifeguards successfully rescued seven people who were stranded due to the fire.
“At approximately 7pm on January 15, New Zealand Police and Fire Emergency New Zealand contacted SLSNZ requesting support to extract people stranded at Anawhata Beach due to a bush fire,” said a SLSNZ spokesperson.
Piha Surf Lifesaving Club deployed surf lifeguards on three inflatable rescue boats and two rescue watercraft.
They successfully extracted seven people from Anawhata Beach and returned them safely to Piha at around 8pm.
It comes after another bushfire broke out in West Auckland on Tuesday.
The fire, near Te Aute Ridge Rd and Bethells Rd in Waitākere, was reported about 6pm.
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland moved into a restricted fire season at 6am this morning until further notice, meaning that any person who wants to light an outdoor fire will need a fire permit authorised by Fire and Emergency, which can be applied for at checkitsalright.nz.
Outdoor fires will be restricted in Waitematā, Auckland City and Counties Manukau districts due to the high fire risk throughout Auckland.
Three helicopters and multiple fire crews battled the blaze.