[ad_1]
BRADEN FASTIER / Nelson Mail
Firefighters attend a brush fire on land in Thames-Coromandel. (file photo)
Homes are being evacuated as emergency services fight a bushfire on Pumpkin Hill on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Sailors Grave Road had been evacuated Saturday night along with several homes on Pumpkin Hill Road, police said.
There were road closures along State Highway 25.
The police advise anyone who is concerned or feels unsafe to evacuate themselves.
READ MORE:
* Police believe there is no link between the Port Hills night fire and the suspicious fires earlier in the week.
* North Canterbury bush fire fueled by strong northwesterly winds considered accidental
* Flare seen during suspicious fires in Christchurch’s Port Hills.
Google Maps / Things
Pumpkin Hill, on the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula, has been affected.
Two helicopters are on the scene fighting the blaze, New Zealand Fire & Emergency Shift Manager Colin Underdown confirmed.
He said fire services would likely be at the scene overnight.
“We strongly encourage anyone who does not need to be there to avoid the area so that emergency service personnel can enter and leave the scene,” a police spokesman said.
Motorists are also asked to avoid the area.
The Coromandel is not the only place affected by bush fires this weekend, as Port Hills in Christchurch also saw evacuations and firefighters fighting fires.
The fire started just after 11 p.m. Friday in Port Hills, but the cause remains unclear.
Fire and Emergency NZ confirmed that it is following positive leads and areas of interest and has located the point of origin.
