
Residents ready to flee
Pets, spare clothes, photo albums, computer equipment and important documents.
Pets, spare clothes, photo albums, computer equipment and important documents.
Firefighters continue to wage a relentless battle against massive fires that threaten to engulf the entire Blue Mountains region west of Sydney as temperatures rise again into the 30s.
Thousands of firefighters, some drafted in from other states, will continue attacking massive fronts in New South Wales in a battle that is likely to last for weeks.
Residents of a heritage seaside town devastated by fire on the NSW central coast have described the scene as "apocalyptic".
The Fire Service is at the scene of big house fire on the corner of Mahia Road and Great South Road in Auckland.
Federated Farmers has warned farmers to check their machinery for starling nests to avoid tractor fires this summer.
Strong winds have caused significant but localised damage on Auckland's North Shore this evening.
Fire investigators are returning to the scene of a house fire in Christchurch today.
A barking dog saved a family from serious injury after a suspicious blaze tore through a Lower Hutt house this morning.
A Blenheim food warehouse has been badly damaged in a fire overnight.
A German forensics expert has been asked to help police solve the mysterious death of a woman while being treated in hospital for burns she suffered in a suspected arson.
Four houses have been engulfed and destroyed and people are being evacuated as a large fire burns out of control south of Christchurch on Thursday, 10 January 2013.
A small fire in the roof of Wellington Zoo's cafe may have been caused by a lightning strike.
A woman and her young nephew had a lucky escape after their home caught fire, causing severe damage to almost half the house.
"It was a shock", said 89-year-old Edna Harrison, but it didn't stop her walking into her neighbour's burning home to try to help him put out the blaze with a garden hose.
An abandoned Wellington house was destroyed by a suspicious fire today. Smoke from the fire could be seen from as far away as Wellington Airport.