The first home was razed by fire which spewed smoke and yellow flames into the night sky.

Four crews are at the scene.

It took eight fire crews two hours to bring the blaze under control last night.

Fire crews remain at the scene of a house fire that broke out in East Tāmaki last night.

Emergency services were called to the blaze along Point View Dr at 8.37pm.

For three days they fretted - and the animals miraculously survived.

Fires continue to rage in Mackenzie Basin after consuming 5500 hectares.

Two appliances are at the blaze, while a third is on its way.

Hebe the border collie needed to go out around 3am. Her owners will be forever grateful.

Investigators say the fire was 'of a scale rarely experienced in this country'.

Some residents are now being allowed through the fire cordon 17km from Lake Ohau.

The August Complex began as dozens of fires ignited by lightning.

Residents readied to picked over what remains after up to 40 homes destroyed or damaged.

Fire boss says blaze was one of the most intense he's seen in Northland in 10 years.

46 homes were destroyed, with thousands of hectares surrounding the village scorched.

Stunned locals describe 'cars that look like a Molotov cocktail exploded inside them'.

The vegetation on conservation land is a 'huge risk' to neighbours, mayor says.

'I'm trying to find a pair of undies; I have my phone and clothes on my back.'

The blaze has chewed through an area of around 1608ha Fire and Emergency NZ says.

Eleven helicopters and seven ground crews battling huge Canterbury fire.

'It was pretty dramatic,' says family who had camped about 5km across the lake.

Fire crews are currently fighting a large fire burning through pine forestry on Mckenzie Road, Livingstone. Video / Rebecca Ryan / ODT

PM Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare comment on the Lake Ohau fires that have destroyed dozens of homes. Video / Dean Purcell

The fire is just off Abel Tasman Drive in the Ligar Bay area.

The blaze was spotted in the roof of a single storey building that contains several shops.

An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert is continuing to threaten homes. Video / AP

The Bobcat fire raging throughout California is only 15 per cent contained.

Firefighters have been working around the clock to contain the wildfires decimating US.

Emergency teams rushed to fight the fire that flared up at 2am today.

Two large scrub fires have keep firefighters busy in the Canterbury region overnight.