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Jeroen Jongejans / Supplied
A pohutukawa tree burns in flames during the fire in the Tutukaka Reserve on Saturday night.
A Northland fire that burned 5 acres of native trees and got dangerously close to homes is being treated as a suspect.
The fire in Tutukaka, east of Whangārei, started around 7:30 pm on Saturday in the Tutukaka Reserve.
Firefighters battled steep and inaccessible terrain to control the blaze, with the assistance of eight fire trucks.
Jeroen Jongejans / Supplied
The fire in the Tutukaka Reserve destroyed 5 hectares of native bush and trees, but it could have been worse if the winds were stronger.
A helicopter was unable to attend due to nighttime conditions, Fire & Emergency Shift Manager Craig Dally said.
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The fire burned 100 meters by 500 meters, the equivalent of five ruby fields, and is being treated as a suspect, Dally said.
Tutukaka local Jeroen Jongejans said the fire was about two hundred meters from the houses on Landowners Lane.
Firefighters not only struggled with poor access, they were also short of water, Jongejans said. They had to draw water from a private building to continue putting out the fire.
“They had to run a lot of hoses through difficult terrain,” he said. “They did a very good job.”
Jongejans said firefighters and homeowners were lucky the wind conditions were mild and blew north, rather than blowing flames toward homes.
If the wind was strong, he feared the fire would have ended like the one on Lake Ōhau earlier this month, which destroyed up to 50 houses.
The Tutukaka fire destroyed several 20-year-old trees, including pōhutukawa, in addition to Kikuyu grass, Jongejans said.
