Cape fire under control
A wildfire that came within 1.5km of Cape Reinga lighthouse is now officially under control, a week after the blaze started.
On Tuesday last week, firefighters handed management of the site back to Ngāti Kuri iwi, who would continue monitoring the area, Fire and Emergency incident controller Wayne Martin said.
That meant there would be no firefighters needed the next day.
The blaze broke out on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 28, in a blaze that was ‘‘likely to be deliberate’’, firefighters said earlier.
By the next day, it had moved to within 1.5km of the famous lighthouse, closing State Highway 1 at the top of the country.
But favourable weather conditions since then allowed firefighters to attack the blaze both from the air and from the ground.
Helicopters continued to work on the fire until Sunday, April 2, when the operation began to scale down.
Just one helicopter was needed to help shuttle 34 firefighters last Monday and 22 last Tuesday.
Ngāti Kuri would continue to monitor the site for any flareups.
An aerial estimate showed the fire burnt through 298ha of scrub across nearly 400ha, with a perimeter of 19km.
An investigator would continue to look into the cause.
Ngāti Kuri said it had been given the all-clear to reopen its Taputaputa camp, at the top of the country, for visitors and campers.
The camp was open from 8am last Wednesday, in time for Easter, but all tracks and micro camps would stay closed until further notice.
Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua is a place of cultural, environmental and recreational significance, especially to Ngāti Kuri iwi – who alerted firefighters to the blaze and had been proactive in firefighting efforts.