The fire was contained to the Kaingaroa township in Whakatāne. Eight fire crews and two helicopters are battling a bush blaze near Kaingaroa. One house was evacuated, but didn't appear to be damaged, Fire and Emergency New Zealand northern communication shift manager Daniel Nicholson said. Send your photos and video of the fire to us at newstips@stuff.co.nzEmergency Services were called to the fire in the Kaingaroa township, near Middle Rd, at 1.30pm. It was unclear how much damage the fire had done to vegetation in the town.

Source: Stuff February 14, 2019 02:37 UTC