A Taumarunui man has been charged with arson over two fires on a rural Kakahi property last week.

Firefighters are battling steep terrain and limited water supplies to contain a large scrub fire near a pine forest in Dome Valley north of Auckland this afternoon.

A helicopter pilot needed medical treatment for ash in his eyes as firefighters battled a massive forest fire last night.

Firefighters battle a large forest fire north of Auckland. Video supplied by Daniel Fenning

Firefighters are battling a large forest fire north of Auckland. A helicopter with monsoon bucket, five pumps and two water tankers are assisting at the scene.

The cause of a house fire north of Whangarei overnight is being investigated.

Western Bay firefighters are on high alert with the region's fire risk at a three-year high.

The scrub fire which raged in Happy Valley overnight is being treated as suspicious until the cause is known, fire services say.

A large scrub fire in a Wellington suburb which threatened 30 houses and forced the evacuation of up to 70 residents.

A scrub fire north of Auckland has grown six times in size over the course of today.

The residents of a rural house engulfed by a suspicious fire last night are incredibly lucky to have escaped, police say.

Four fire engines and five tankers are at the Chertsey Kyle Road fire which has spread down a 400 metre tree line and destroyed a hay stack.

A woman was lucky to escape with her life from an exploding house in Wanganui East early on Saturday morning.

A 19-year-old woman who emerged from a burning Northland house following an explosion was hosed down by neighbours until emergency services arrived.

A Far North fire boss has had a gutsful of "stupid people" ignoring a total fire ban and putting lives and property at risk, with 37 fire callouts in the district so far this year, including two yesterday.

A Northland woman has died in hospital after she was severely burnt in a gas explosion.

A dog that refused to stop barking when a fire broke out helped save a mother and her two children from the blaze in the bedroom of a Wanganui house.

Four people have been hospitalised after a fire at Wanganui last night.

A woman who has suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body had just arrived home when an explosion occurred, a resident who came to her help says.