A significant fire that broke out in a Tauranga plumbing company is now out.

Fire crews have rushed to West Auckland where a shed has gone up in flames.

Burned vegetation clear in satellite images of Christchurch Port Hills.

Fire cordons in Port Hills are being lifted, to give people a few hours' access to their homes.

With temperatures expected to heat up this week, fire crews are racing against the clock to contain the Port Hills blaze and prevent any further loss.

Authorities working to contain the Port Hills fire are being helped by drizzle, which is forecast to turn to light rain this afternoon.

The Herald speaks with the Rural Fire Service crew, and their ongoing effort in controlling the fires.

Ten of eleven houses destroyed in Port Hills fire could have been saved had career firefighters not been sent home at the start of blaze, union bosses say.

The Port Hills inferno was so powerful that it was spreading up to 160m every minute at it's peak, and water firefighters put on it evaporated.

Civil Defence's reports of houses destroyed by fire and evacuations over the past 24 hours have varied wildly.

A photographer who surveyed the damage of the Port Hills fire from the air has shared the incredible images that show the devastation.

With a raging wild fire surrounding the Christchurch Adventure Park, the future is uncertain for the fledgling business.

State of emergency declared as Port Hills' wildfires continued yesterday.

As authorities continue to fight fires in Christchurch, a community mourns the loss of one of its own who just yesterday was among those battling the flames.

Strong wind drove John Wuts home early from Ocean Beach yesterday and on the way home heavy smoke made him fear for his life. The

Two serious house fires have broken out in the North Island.

Police have named the person who died in a shed fire in Christchurch on Thursday as 51-year-old Savita Devi Naidu.

Firefighters are battling a blaze that has broken out at Airborne Honey in Christchurch.

A person has been treated for smoke inhalation following a garage fire in Pukekohe this afternoon.

Firefighters are attending a small scrub fire on the side of Auckland's Southern Motorway this afternoon.

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

A truck has crashed on a busy highway in Waitomo district this afternoon.

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

An off-duty fireman came to the aid of a man who was injured after a tree fell on his car on the Southern Motorway during last night's storm.

About 60 people - including police, firefighters and defence personnel - are continuing to search for an elderly Auckland woman who has been missing for six days.

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

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

A bush fire which threatened homes near Blenheim this afternoon is being treated as suspicious.

Nearly 1000 cats have found themselves in predicaments needing rescue by fire crews in the last five years.

Firefighters are battling a blaze at a scrap metal yard in Silverdale, north of Auckland, this morning.