Fire at a Spencer Rd property at Lake Tarawera. Photo / Supplied
A fire at a Lake Tarawera property has been extinguished.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said multiple crews battled the 20m by 10m fire at a two-storey dwelling on Spencer Rd this morning.
The fire was now out and crews were dampening down hot spots.
Initial reports came in around 8.15am of a fire in a carport attached to a house, a police spokeswoman said.
All people in the house have been accounted for and ambulance services were stood down.
A photographer at the scene said a column of "thick, black smoke" was seen coming from the house.
A reporter said there was a lot of smoke and the air was hazy.
Fire crews from Lake Tarawera, Lake Okareka, Rotorua and Ngongotahā were on scene.
The road was closed from about 230 Spencer Rd.
A Tarawera resident said she woke up to a phone call from her best friend in Auckland, asking her to check on their house.
"Their house is right next to the one that's burning.
"They're frantic."
More to come
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