Fire that damaged caravans thought suspicious

15th March 2010

Two caravans and  half a hectare of scrub were damaged by fire at Mangawhai.

The fire  is thought to have started in a letterbox.

Mangawhai chief fire officer Maurice Doughty said emergency services received a call  about 2pm from a person who saw  a car driving away rapidly from the Black Swamp Rd letterbox.

Flames  spread to long grass around it and the caller had tried unsuccessfully to extinguish them.

By the time fire officers were at the property, the fire  covered  half a hectare of gorse, tea tree and pine.

Fire officers were alerted to two old caravans at the rear of the property which,  although vacant, contained personal belongings. Mr Doughty said one of the caravans was extensively damaged, the other moderately.

 About 30 fire officers from Mangawhai, Kaiwaka and Matakana attended.

The fire was contained by  about 4pm.  A helicopter  was stood down.

Meanwhile, three deliberately lit fires  added to frustrations for Far North firefighters over the weekend.

Two helicopters worked continuously for eight hours fighting a fire beside Waima Valley Rd, near Kaikohe, which burned  80ha of scrub and native bush.

Far North principal rural fire officer Lance Johnston said visitors  going to the marae for an unveiling were turned away because of the risk.

The blaze started in an area 50m from the road, which led Mr Johnston to believe it  had been deliberately lit.

The helicopters were called because of the steep and inaccessible nature of the land, and worked continuously from 11am to 7pm on Saturday.

A bulldozer was at the scene yesterday,  opening up access for ground crews to hotspots and creating firebreaks.

Smoke from the blaze  spread throughout the Far North  and triggered 111 calls  from as far away as Okaihau and Kaeo.

Mr Johnston said he was frustrated the message not to light fires was not getting through.

 "It's costing a lot of money and tying up a huge number of resources."

Meanwhile, Kaikohe chief fire officer Bill Hutchinson said two people got a "hell of a fright" when a rubbish fire in a  200-litre drum on Rangihamama Rd "got away on them" on Friday night.

 A fire crew was at the scene within seven minutes and wind blew the flames away from houses. Mr Hutchinson said the couple were spoken to "severely".

Shortly after, another rubbish fire was lit 50m down the road.

Mr Hutchinson said the man who had lit the fire argued with firefighters, telling them it was his land and he could do whatever he wanted.

Mr Hutchinson said:
 "It's up to us to advise the council but whether they attend or not depends on resources."