About 20 firefighters and six helicopters with monsoon buckets are working to put out hot spots in a large scrub fire in the Far North which has been burning since Saturday. Crews were called to the 350 hectare fire at Waiharara in the Far North, north of Kaimaumau, about 20km north of Kaitaia, shortly before 1.30pm Saturday. Earlier, a Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) spokesman told Stuff a stretch of scrub about 1km long was still actively burning. Email newstips@stuff.co.nz“We urge members of the public to stay away from the area for the time being.”On Saturday afternoon, more than 40 firefighters and seven helicopters had been deployed to tackle the blaze. No properties were at risk, the spokesman said shortly after 7am on Sunday.

Source: Stuff December 18, 2021 23:55 UTC