Far North fire: Evacuated residents given green light to go home

Wednesday, 22 December 2021

Fire & Emergency NZ incident controller Wipari Henwood explains the latest on the fire near Kaimaumau on Monday.

Residents evacuated from their homes due to a massive fire in the Far North have been told they can go home on Wednesday.

The fire, near the township of Kaimaumau, began in a peat bog and has been burning since Saturday, reaching 2000 hectares in size at its largest.

Residents were evacuated from the township on the weekend and about 30 – along with 15 pet cats and dogs – had spent three nights sleeping at Waiharara School hall. Others had been staying with friends.

A massive fire blazes in a peat swamp near Waiharara in the Far North.

On Wednesday, Fire and Emergency NZ said they could return home after 10am, in plenty of time for Christmas.

Crews were called to the fire at Waiharara shortly before 1.30pm Saturday.

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A timelapse, captured by Noah Dickinson, showing the fire burning at Waiharara on Saturday afternoon.

“Fingers crossed it all settles down and they all have a happy Christmas,” Far North mayor John Carter said.

Carter said the villagers had been stoic and worked well with the emergency services assisting them.

Residents would have the job of cleaning ash off roofs, although Carter said no houses had been damaged.

“Thermal imaging overnight showed there were no hot spots or heat in the southern end of the fireground behind the Kaimaumau village,” Fire and Emergency NZ said in a statement.

The township’s children had received early Christmas presents from Department of Conservation representatives, on behalf of Minister of Emergency Management and Conservation Kiritapu Allen.

The road into Kaimaumau township was closed when the residents were evacuated.

“Until the next rain is forecast next Tuesday, Kaimaumau residents should disconnect down pipes from roof spouting to avoid ash and any debris going into water tanks,” the statement said.

“There [are] still active firefighting operations around the Kaimaumau area. If you don’t need to be in Kaimaumau, please stay away from the area, including no camping.”

On Wednesday, the wind was set to shift and blow from the south, pushing the fire away from the village and towards the sea.

Metservice’s Luis Fernandes said wind would be a light southerly, shifting to an eastern sea breeze in the afternoon.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said a helicopter was back in the air on Wednesday morning, fighting the flames.

A social media post from Fire and Emergency Northland said 20 people and heavy machinery were also fighting the fire.

The post said crews would be focusing on containing the northern end of the fire on Wednesday.

It advised those who live to the north of the blaze to shut their windows to prevent smoke from entering their houses.

Firefighters had expanded and upgraded firebreaks around the town and the fire to contain the blaze.

Carter said the fire had started burning peat at the edge of the wetland where it met farmland, but it was contained, and it was “highly unlikely” villagers would have to evacuate again.

He said most of the scrub in the wetland had been burnt.

The Kaimaumau wetland is the only remaining freshwater wetland in Northland larger than 1000 hectares and is home to 11 species of threatened plants, a Department of Conservation spokeswoman said.