Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control after a four hour battle but crews were working late into the afternoon to dampen hotspots. Photograph / Michael Cunningham
Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control after a four hour battle but crews were working late into the afternoon to dampen hotspots. Photograph / Michael Cunningham
A lawnmower sparked a large blaze that tore through 8ha of gorse and pampas grass in Tutukaka yesterday.
Four helicopters and firefighters from six brigades joined forces to bring the inferno under control after it broke out in the backyard of a Church Bay property shortly before 12pm.
Tutukaka resident Vic Pitman said the fire had started in the grass emptied by a neighbour from his ride-on lawnmower close to his home.
"The mower was just sitting there and then the fire just started," he said. "He is a bit nervous about it and upset."
Tutukaka resident Vic Pitman praised the emergency services whose quick actions brought the large vegetation fire under control. Photograph / Michael Cunningham
Pitman said within minutes the fire had become "out of control" as the southwesterly winds gusting at more than 30km/h spread the fire through a family farm covered in gorse and pampas.
The fire quickly consumed an area of 100m-by-50m and continued to spread across 8ha of land - climbing up the valley hills next to Tutukaka Block Rd.
But Pitman said the fire brigades from Ngunguru, Kamo, Whangārei, Kawakawa, Maungakaramea, and Whananaki - as well as the choppers from Salt Air and Helinorth Helicopters - were "just marvellous".
A resident, who did not want to be named, feared her home was in the fire's path as it threatened to burn over a ridgeline and spread further into the valley.
She had smelled the smoke earlier in the day when the fire first ignited.
"I knew it was a grass fire because of the smell," she said. "I was just working away inside and didn't take too much notice of it. Then when I went outside there was a blanket of smoke."
She left her home and went into Church Bay before returning to the house later that afternoon after firefighters had contained the inferno.
"It was too close for comfort," she said. "Thank God for the helicopters."
Four helicopters were called in from around Northland to help ground crews extinguish the 8ha blaze. Photograph / Michael Cunningham
A phone call alerted local Paul Dimery to the news about a fire in the area. He immediately went to check on a friend's house and by that time the first crew from Ngunguru had arrived.
"It was pretty much just smoke at that stage but the fire brigade were worried about it going up the valley," he said.
The fears seemed well-founded as Dimery witnessed "exceptionally high flames" billow from the valley.
"It went up to the top of the valley really quickly but that was about the same time the helicopters arrived."
Large blankets of smoke had provided challenging conditions for the helicopters but once the plumes slightly cleared the helicopters had pinpoint accuracy as they released water taken from the bay in the monsoon buckets.
On December 27 last year a ride-on lawnmower sparked a scrub fire in Waipū Cove. Seven fire engines and trucks, alongside a helicopter, were required to extinguish the blaze that threatened nearby homes.
The fires, although accidental, were an important reminder about the dangers fires sparked in the current dry conditions can pose for the region, said Muri Whenua area manager Wipari Henwood.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson advised people to regularly check their machinery for loose vegetation and to frequently blow vegetation from engines with compressed air or a portable leaf blower.
They recommended people wet down work areas or keep hoses and water on hand when carrying out tasks that can create sparks.
