Far North fire: Evacuated residents allowed home, but Ahipara blaze still burning

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Video shot from a helicopter shows the destruction of the hillside above the township of Ahipara as fire crews work to put out the last of the blaze.

People evacuated due to a large bushfire in the Far North are being allowed home, but they have been warned to be ready to leave again at short notice.

More than 100 properties were evacuated overnight after a blaze took hold in the Gumfields Historic Reserve, just south of the small town of Ahipara.

100 homes were evacuated while firefighters worked overnight to contain a large blaze in Ahipara.

Multiple crews and helicopters were first called to the fire at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach about 5.45pm on Tuesday.

On Wednesday morning, Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) said the fire had burnt through about 56 hectares. About 40 crew members were still on the ground, supported by six helicopters.

The extent of the fire damage on the hill above Ahipara could be seen on Wednesday morning.

Incident controller Rory Renwick said it was now safe for residents of Foreshore Rd, up to and including Tasman Heights, to return to their homes.

“For the other residents, mainly those on Reef View Rd, we will continue to review the areas around their homes and let them back in when it is safe to do so.”

Ahipara resident Medadane Kipa is in disbelief that her home wasn't destroyed given the fire was 'massive'.

He said the goal for today is to keep the fire within the identified perimeter.

Do you live in the area affected by the fire? Contact newstips@stuff.co.nz or phone 09 374 4752

Helicopters were forced to abandon the fire when it became dark.

FENZ is asking people in the area to stay away from the beach and the fire ground while firefighting operations continue.

Those who had to leave their homes spent the night at the local rugby club and the Roma Marae.

Smoke billows from the large bushfire in the Gumfields Historic Reserve near Ahipara in the Far North.

Reef View Rd resident Medadane Kipa said ash began to “rain” over the neighbourhood within half an hour of the fire starting.

Thick smoke now engulfs the small Northland town of Ahipara after a large scrub fire.

“I saw the big plume of smoke and thought ‘woah that’s close’.”

After about half an hour, she left her home as it had become “too smokey” and later heard from a neighbour that they had been evacuated.

Kipa then went to a friend’s house on nearby Foreshore Rd, but they were later evacuated as well, so she spent the night at her dad's house in Kaitaia.

She was so worried about the fire, it was about 3am until she managed to fall asleep.

“I just thought there is no way the houses aren’t going to be burnt down. It was so close and it was massive.”

Far North mayor John Carter called the fire a “massive warning”.

“Fortunately, we've escaped without loss of life, loss of property or injury this time.

“Every resident and every visitor to Northland has a responsibility to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again.”

He paid tribute to the “outstanding” work by FENZ: “Without their intervention I shudder to think what might have happened.”

Photos taken on Wednesday morning show how close the fire got to the houses.

He called on Northland residents and visitors to follow fire safety instructions from FENZ, saying that to otherwise was “foolhardy and dangerous”.

At 8pm on Tuesday, police officers told Jade Weaver, who is staying with her parents in Ahipara’s Tasman Heights, that the blaze was unpredictable and could get worse.

Helicopters gather sea water to tackle the fire.

She had earlier phoned emergency services after seeing smoke and flames.

“We saw the first helicopter come along and dip in the ocean with a water bucket, but we can’t see too much any more because there is too much smoke.

“There is lots of ash raining from the sky.”

Weaver said the fire was creeping up the hill quickly and “definitely reached the top.”

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Weaver said the whole hill was “charred and black” with “just a line of green” before the houses.

She could only assess the damage from a distance but said it looked like the fire had been as close as 100 metres from people’s homes.

Her mum’s home was among those evacuated, and they spent the night with other family members.

She said her step-uncle went down to the beach in the early hours of the morning: “He could see whole trees go up in flames, they would send a fireball into the air that would light up the beach.”

On Wednesday morning, FENZ brought in a total fire ban for Northland.

“It is very dry up in the Far North, and we want to take every step possible to reduce the risk of potentially dangerous fires, like we are dealing with at Ahipara,” principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor said.

In October, at least four homes in the Ahipara area were evacuated due to a scrub fire covering ten hectares near the southern end of Ninety Miles Beach.