Strong winds are hampering efforts to contain timber fires in Coromandel.
Fifty firefighters are battling multiple blazes at the Carter Holt Harvey mill at Kopu, near Thames.
Crews faced a chilly night with potentially hazardous gusty southwesterlies.
Fire and Emergency shift manger Daniel Nicholson says the weather made a serious situation even more serious as multiple large fires burned through timber, recycled materials, large amounts of wood shavings and bark.
