Fire crews battle a fire in the Tahorakuri Forest area near Taupō. Photo / Fire and Emergency
A third helicopter is joining the battle to contain a large scrub fire in the Tahorakuri Forest area between Rotorua and Taupō.
A witness says the blaze is worrying nearby homeowners.
A Bay of Plenty Fire and Emergency New Zealand post on Facebook said 12 crews were in attendance and a third helicopter was about to join the battle.
A tanker and support vehicles were also being used.
The fire was reported at 12.40pm on Te Toke Rd.
The fire was about four hectares in size at 3.15pm.
“The fire is not contained or controlled,” a 3.45pm post said.
“Te Toke Rd is closed in the area near the fire.”
A Fire and Emergency spokesman earlier told the Rotorua Daily Post multiple calls about the fire had been received.
“Approximately 32 firefighters are in attendance currently working with two helicopters,” he said.
Brigades from Taupō, Lake Taupō and Tokoroa were there.
Police said they were assisting with traffic management.
People were asked to avoid the area while fire crews worked.
There were no evacuations reported.
Broadlands Rd resident Alix Lattey said she was working from home when the fire began.
“I saw it over the other side of the [Waikato] River and then the plumes of smoke got a lot bigger ... quite quickly.
Unsure if it was a controlled scrub burn, she “took a bit of a drive up the road towards River Rd just to see how close it was to the river”.
She said she was a bit concerned for her property and others nearby.
“There’s a few homesteads on the other side of the river,” she said.
She had seen reports that it had “just missed a house”.
“I don’t know if it got anybody else’s at this stage,” Lattey said.
She said the plumes of smoke were reducing.
“They don’t have the massive plumes of smoke that they did an hour or so ago,” she said about 2.50pm.
A 28-year-old man is due to appear in the Kaitaia District Court.