The major fire which threatened the Bay of Islands airport appears to have been started by a spark from work on power lines.
Firefighters are continuing to dampen down the 80 hectare blaze near Kerikeri.
Top Energy CEO Russell Shaw says a worker doing routine maintenance yesterday afternoon, unplugged a cap which sent a spark flying.
Mr Shaw says ordinarily the small fire in the scrub below may not have spread so quickly, but the situation was made worse by the current tinder-dry conditions in the Far North.
He says the lines are now fully repaired and operational, and an investigation into the incident is underway.
- NEWSTALK ZB
Scrub fire caused by spark
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