A Northland man has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of arson and elected to have a jury trial. Andrew Lee Searle, 20, of Te Kopuru

The third serious house fire in Canterbury this week has badly damaged a home. Police suspect arson.

Firefighters were forced to break into a Bishopdale flat prevent a fire while the couple inside slept.

Fire has raced through native scrubland in the bed of a dried-out lake in the Far North.

Fire crews have now contained a large scrub fire south of Whangarei.

A Kaiapoi home has been extensively damaged by fire in a large blaze overnight.

While the eastern region swelters in one of the most rain-deprived Januaries in more than a century, some western areas have been drenched.

A scrub fire has broken out in a central Auckland suburban gully early this morning.

A fire near Piha Beach Piha Beach on Auckland's West Coast has been extinguished.

A fire investigator will be looking into the cause of a house fire in Dargaville, in Northland, today.

Police would like to speak to two young men who stopped to assist as they were driving past the house and saw flames.

A large bin burst into flames on a busy street in Auckland CBD this afternoon.

Fire races through a New Lynn boarding house.

Fire crews won't be leaving the scene of a devastating bushfire on the Coromandel until next month.

The fourth victim of the horrific house fire in Flat Bush will be laid to rest today.

Firefighters are responding to a scrub fire in South Auckland this evening.

Hawke's Bay has had its driest January since 1950, according to MetService records for that month. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

A video posted by the Russian Emergency Ministry captures firefighters saving about 150 pigs and piglets from a barn fire in a Siberian village.

A Northland man has been charged with lighting 10 fires in the Kaipara area that have destroyed areas of conservation land and a forest

Climate change scientists have projected continued global greenhouse gas emissions would heat Northland heat up more than other regions

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

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