Three people were spotted leaving the summit of Māngere Mountain as fire crews battled a blaze atop the volcanic cone overnight.
The fire service received multiple calls from 11.04pm about a fire on Māngere Mountain - also known as Te Pane o Mataoho or Te Ara Pueru.
Thick smoke from the blaze drifted over the nearby State Highway 20 motorway.
Crews from Ōtāhuhu, Māngere, and Papatoetoe attended the scene. A Herald photographer said firefighters had to park their appliances at the base and access the summit on foot.
“Once we made our way to top there was a scrub fire or vegetation fire of approximately 50 square metres,” Northern shift manager Karen Larking said.
The crews had extinguished the blaze by 1.50am.
The Herald photographer said three individuals were observed leaving the peak while firefighters were still fighting the blaze.
The group could be heard laughing loudly. It is not known whether they were linked to the fire.
However, Larking said no fire investigator was expected today. Auckland’s Tūpuna Maunga Authority and the Department of Conservation would inspect the scene.
Last night’s fire was much smaller than a suspicious blaze which swept down the crater in 2019.
That fire was almost impossible to extinguish due to the steep terrain, but it eventually burnt itself out near the bottom of the crater after about four hours.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.