Fire investigators are unable to work out what started a house fire that has now claimed four lives.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

A firefighter appeared drunk and others could not demonstrate basic critical skills during an audit, an official report says.

Neighbours of Whitianga residents who lost their homes in this week's bush fires have been rallying around - donating food, clothing and time to support the recovery effort. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Jani Dennis and Paul Lee came perilously close to losing everything in this week's devastating bush fire which ravaged 70 hectares of land at the tip of the peninsula.

The forecasted weather bomb has seen a change in wind direction at the scene of the massive bush fire south of Whitianga.

Christchurch police are investigating two incidents in the city, the latest was when a man entered a tavern yesterday with a sawn-off shotgun.

The Hakarimata Track is not in danger from the fire, but remains closed this morning.

At least six properties were destroyed - but there was no loss of life during the Whitianga bushfire. And locals say they know it could have been much worse. Made with funding from NZ On Air

They described it as explosive, extreme and rampant; and tonight the wildfire that cost residents of an idyllic Whitianga peninsula their homes is burning on.

Coromandel MP Scott Simpson on the damage caused by a devastating fire, which destroyed at least six homes. The Wilderland Sustainable Community was hit hard - with buildings, equipment and crops destroyed. Made with funding from NZ On Air

Valiant effort by neighbours not enough to save homes of shocked Whitianga locals.

Council spokeswoman Rebekah Duffin said the destruction of the Wilderland farm would be a huge blow to the area.

A Toyota Altezza was set alight in a carpark near Invercargill.

A fire which burned through 100ha of hillside near Arthur's Pass last week and four more fires on Saturday are suspected to be the work of an arsonist.

A person is injured and homes threatened during an overnight house fire.

A vegetation fire is burning out of control on a sandspit at the bottom of the South Island.

A large vegetation fire that came within five metres of a new Blenheim subdivision and forced the evacuation of 60 homes was deliberately lit, authorities have confirmed.

A 20-year-old Kaipara man is appearing in the Whangarei District Court today on one charge of arson.

A blaze near Arthur's Pass has flared up again, almost one week after it first broke out.

Staff have been evacuated from a Countdown supermarket at Warkworth north of Auckland, because of a chemical leak.

A property has been extensively damaged after a house fire near Westport on Friday night.

Police are confident a white van seen in the area did not cause the blaze. They are now looking for a dark coloured station wagon.

The fire near Queenstown which destroyed 150ha of native scrub was likely caused by a campfire, authorities have found.

A 200-litre drum of nitric acid was punctured by a forklift in West Auckland this afternoon, injuring two people.

A huge scrub fire that has destroyed 150ha near Queenstown is now under control but it's still going to take days to put out as police investigate the cause.

Several blazes over the past 24 hours have kept firefighters across the country on their toes.

The cause of the tragic fire that killed three members of a Flat Bush family just before Christmas remains undetermined.

One person has been seriously injured in a fire on Waiheke Island.

The fire that cut off a small community near Queenstown is now under police investigation.