A Kiwi couple have returned to total destruction after a blaze left their holiday home near Taupo in ashes.

Helicopters will return at dawn to see the damage caused by yesterday's wildfire north of Christchurch.

Travel is safer now, so fewer of us are dying in large-scale disasters, but climate change could reverse the trend.

Large fires near the Hanmer Springs turnoff on the Lewis Pass Rd have brought traffic to a standstill and cut power in the area.

Arsonists leave $40,000 bill after setting fire to slides in children's playground.

Firefighters are battling a bush fire on Auckland's North Shore.

A man suffering serious injuries is to be flown to hospital after a car fire in Canterbury.

A fire service spokesman said the injured person suffered burns to their arm.

Fire crews have rushed to West Auckland where a shed has gone up in flames.

Eleven cordons are still up and 150 firefighters on the ground in Christchurch.

A quick thinking member of the public put out a car fire during the pride parade after an Air New Zealand truck caught fire.

Emergency services are tackling a house fire in Hamilton.

Mike King's appearance at the piggery near Levin helped in the campaign to ban on sow crates.

While cordons on the Port Hills have been relaxed, Civil Defence says non-residents are still banned from the area

Hero chopper pilot Steve Askin was a man who valued serving others, father Paul says.

A building at a paintball park south of Auckland that's been gutted by fire will probably have to be demolished.

The thickest thieves ever have burnt an ATM they were trying to rob... And everything inside it.

Amazing aerial footage shows the extent of the fire damage in the Port Hills.

Police have been called in to investigate a blaze at a Pakuranga sports bar.

A school already struggling with a tragic start to the year has now lost its technology block to a devastating early morning fire.

People affected by fires may be entitled to free doctor visits.

Burned vegetation clear in satellite images of Christchurch Port Hills.

Firefighters are pulling back from the Worsleys area, as the situation in Christchurch continues to improve.

A swimming pool - and quick thinking - helped save the Port Hills last week.

A house fire which claimed two lives has been linked to "spotting cannabis".

Relief as no one found inside a South Auckland home badly damaged by fire.

The fire was in a building in Gumfield Drive.

Reporter Georgina Campbell was sent down to Christchurch to help cover the Port Hills fires. Here she tells what she saw.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel gives an update on the Port Hills fire and announces extension of State for Emergency

The Port Hills will be in a state of emergency for another seven days after last week's fire.