The fire has burned through more than 130,000 hectares and authorities have warned that embers are being blown well ahead of its front, causing a danger to homes.
Sixty-three fires were burning across the state this morning, including 15 that were yet to be contained.
More than 450 firefighters and other personnel were working to control the blazes as conditions eased.
New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) said the bushfires were sending “huge plumes of smoke” across the Tasman Sea.
It said Kiwis shouldn’t be surprised to see hazy skies and unusually colourful sunsets over the next week.
Aussie bushfires are sending huge plumes of smoke across the Tasman Sea. Don't be surprised if you see some hazy skies or unusually colourful sunsets over the next week 🌇
One fire is over 100,000 hectares and currently burning out of control in northern New South Wales. pic.twitter.com/mlzOs2FwpW
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll told the Herald last month it was possible that hot northwesterly flows predicted to arrive regularly from Australia over summer would make a drift of smoke possible.
“To see it [smoke] in our skies, what you need is a fast start to the fire season across the Tasman, as well as a circulation pattern that favours the west-to-east transport of air from Australia to New Zealand.”
As to whether our skies might turn the same ghastly orange they did in the opening days of 2020 – when large amounts of material were carried over the Tasman by an upper-level jet of westerly winds – other elements would need to align, he said.
“Whether that’s a southerly change moving up the South Island that drags some dust right out ahead and brings it down to a lower level of the atmosphere, or something else – these are things that just aren’t foreseeable at this point.”
Niwa air quality scientist Ian Longley – who recalled the eerie 2020 haze as “looking a bit like Mars” as he photographed it from the beach at Mangawhai Heads – thought it more likely than not that New Zealand would again see bushfire smoke this summer.
Additional reporting AAP
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
