Waiouru fire spreads over 3800ha, South Island blaze contained

Drone crews will work overnight to monitor an out-of-control scrub blaze in the Waiouru Defence Area.The vegetation fire has ripped through almost 3840 hectares since it was sparked by gun fire during military training on Sunday.Fire and Emergency (FENZ)'s incident controller District Commander Nigel Dravitzki said the fire died down on Tuedsay but flare-ups were expected overnight.He said the steep terrain and weather conditions made containing the fire challenging.Defence Force personnel and the fire brigade would be supported by aircraft on Wednesday, with heavy machinery on standby."Firefighters have worked to protect a repeater station, a pā site and other culturally significant areas," Dravitzki said.He said smoke from the fire was affecting a wide area, with Health New Zealand advising that people sensitive to smoke could experience symtoms such as coughing and shortness of breah."Anyone with health concerns can call Healthline 24/7 on 0800 611 116 for free health advice, or their own family doctor."Earlier, the wind in the central North Island eased, allowing firefighters tackling the blaze to resume ground and aerial operations.FENZ said light rain was also helping crews as they worked to bring the blaze under control.Dravitzki said it may take several days to fully contain and extinguish.He said five ground crews were working on the western flank of the fire, and seven helicopters resumed the air attack on Tuesday afternoon to stop the fire's spread along the eastern perimetre.Teams from FENZ, the NZ Defence Force and local volunteer brigades were all involved in fighting the fire.Fire and Emergency's National Coordination Centre was also activated to support the fire as well as other large-scale fires across New Zealand.Winds forecast to ease, cold weather on the wayOn Tuesday morning, MetService head of weather news Heather Keats told Morning Report the strong winds were making it difficult to fight wildfires, but rain was expected to help and the wind forecast to ease.Keats said another front was expected to arrive over the South Island on Wednesday bringing a further change in wind direction and strength, but was not expected to be as severe.The country was in for "yo-yo temperatures" as the strong north-west wind turned to a southerly before easing, she said. Dunedin reached 28C on Monday, but would have a high of 13C on Tuesday, then 20C on Wednesday, and Thursday it would be 13C maximum again.Over the weekend, Wellington's Mt Kaukau recorded a maximum 148km/h and Mt Somers in Canterbury had gusts of 222 km/h.Wellington airport had 113 km/hr winds at 4am on Tuesday and Dunedin had 87 km/h.Keats said strong winds and rising temperatures could make for a challenging wildfire season as the country headed into summer.Heavy rain warnings for the Grey and Buller districts and Tararua Ranges were lifted on Tuesday morning, as were strong wind warnings for Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa.Smoke warning issued after Roxburgh fireCrews were back at the site to dampen remaining hotspots on Tuesday and heavy machinery was being used to fell damaged trees.Fire and Emergency advised locals to stay inside and close windows and doors as a significant amount of smoke was expected in the area.At least seven fire crews had worked on the blaze - which was thought to have started in trees about 2.45pm Monday - with FENZ saying strong winds added to the problem.A scrub fire on Monday afternoon in the Central Otago town of Roxburgh.Supplied / Carly McDowellSix households east of Roxburgh township had been evacuated and hundreds were left without power. By Tuesday morning all but 35 properties had the power supply back.Central Otago Mayor Tamah Alley told RNZ on Tuesday the last evacuees were on their way home. She said sustained rain overnight had helped put the blaze out.Alley said the community had rallied together."It was really heartening to see the community come together yesterday and offers of assistance and places to stay and food and kennels for animals and the like were put out very quickly."In Southland, crews were brought back on Monday to work on a scrub fire that burned through about 80 hectares. The fire started on Sunday afternoon on high-country land in the Centre Hill area.Firefighters work to extinguish a scrub fire in the Central Otago town of Roxburgh.Supplied / Carly McDowellFire restrictionThe Bay of Plenty issued fire restrictions from Tuesday following a spate of fires in the region.Outdoor fires will need permission from Fire and Emergency New Zealand until further notice in Whakatāne, Waihau Bay, Ōpōtiki, Coastal Strip, Urewera, Galatea, Plateau North, and Plateau Central.FENZ Bay of Plenty Community Risk Manager Luke Burgess said restrictions were coming in earlier because of forecast El Niño conditions that made fires easier to start.He said more than 70 fires had started in the past month, many starting from unattended beach fires or burn piles."The Bay of Plenty has a lot of valuable conservation land, beaches, agriculture, and forestry, and we need the community to help us keep them safe from fire this summer."Burgess urged the public to be cautious with fireworks which were a significant cause of fires during summer.