Several helicopters worked to extinguish the blaze. Fire crews working to extinguish a blaze on the Napier-Taupō highway will continue to work at the scene into the night. A northern fire communications spokeswoman said Fire Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) received a call at 1.50pm about the scrub fire, on State Highway 5 near Waipunga, a largely rural area 65 kilometres east of Taupō. MATTHEW SMITH/SUPPLIED A scrub fire has broken out on State Highway 5. ​Several rural fire crews from Taupō also worked throughout the afternoon to tackle the blaze from the ground.

Source: Stuff February 09, 2020 05:27 UTC