Evacuated Taupō campers return to sites after bush fire forces evacuations

Five Mile Bay fire. Photo / Alex Leonard

Campers returned to Five Mile Bay Taupō late last night after being evacuated during a large scrub fire.

The fire had originally broken out at 5pm, and fire crews managed to dampen the flames, but it later reignited and grew bigger.

Two helicopters and at least seven fire trucks helped fight the blaze.

Firefighters had come from Taupō and Tokoroa among other nearby towns.

Police were advised at 5.20pm the fire was under control and evacuations were not needed.

However, when the fire flared up again at 8.25pm, police were again contacted.

"At 8.40pm we were advised that FENZ (Fire and Emergency New Zealand) was evacuating the campsite," a spokeswoman said this morning.

She said that by 8.50pm all members of the public had been cleared from the campsite and police units were helping with cordons and traffic control.

Campers returned to their sites before 9.30pm.

Five Mile Bay fire. Photo / Alex Leonard

This morning, FENZ shift manager Craig Dally confirmed the last crews left the scene at 10pm.

He said the fire had covered an 80m by 40m area.

There were no reports of damage to houses in the area.

The fire was not considered suspicious.