The Whangārei fire as seen from the air on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Supplied / FENZ
Whangārei firefighters are confident they will be able to contain a large scrub fire burning on the outskirts of the city by the end of Friday.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand operations manager Dennis Cooper said two helicopters equipped with monsoon buckets and 39 firefighters battled the blaze.
Conditions on the ground, in a steep valley between Onerahi and Tamaterau, just southeast of the city, were now "reasonably benign", Cooper said.
"We don't have any active fire on the edge line, which is great. We've just got crews working today to make sure it's fully contained, which we think we will achieve.
"Yesterday was about structure protection, today is about getting a ring right around the fire and making sure it's contained, and tomorrow we start mopping up the middle."
A survey of the fire this morning established it had burned through an area of 14 hectares, less than the initial estimate of 20 hectares. The perimeter was 1.7km.
At the peak of the fire on Thursday afternoon, Whangārei Heads Rd was closed to traffic and two homes were evacuated.
Helicopters battle the fire in a valley between Onerahi and Tamaterau, Whangārei. Photo: Supplied
The flames had come "very close", Cooper said, within about 20m, of one house.
Firefighters and helicopter pilots had done a great job saving it, he said.
The pilots' initial instructions were to let the fire run through the valley and focus on protecting the houses.
Once the fire's intensity had been reduced, ground crews were placed around the houses with more on standby if required.
All residents had since been able to return to their homes.
The fire had burned through farmland on one side of the valley and scrub and tōtara on the other.
The terrain was the main challenge for firefighters.
"It's extremely steep in the gully, so it's going to take probably three more days to make sure it's fully out."
Smoke at Whangārei Heads from a vegetation fire could be seen from far away on Thursday. Photo: Supplied / Diane Green
A mountain bike park and cafe located in the same valley, Heads Up Adventure Park, was not damaged.
Firefighters were making use of the park's access roads and staging areas, Cooper said.
Two fire investigators were now at the scene to establish how and where the fire started.
They would also be interviewing people in the area on Friday afternoon.
It was too early to say what had caused the fire, Cooper said.
The helicopters would pause when planes were due at nearby Whangārei Airport, so flights would continue as normal.
Some flights were reportedly diverted to Kerikeri on Thursday with passengers then taken to Whangārei by bus.
Meanwhile, Metservice meteorologist Alec Holden said weather conditions in Whangārei were expected to remain favourable for firefighting efforts.
"There is a lot of cloud cover and roaming showers around. It should make conditions or easier for firefighters to get hold of the blaze.
Conditions should be cooler and hopefully if they get a shower over the top of the fire, it should be real easy to jump on top of it and wrestle it down," he said.
Holden said Friday's easterly wind would likely shift to a northerly in the evening, but was not expected to be strong enough to threaten containment lines.
He said humidity was high, around 80 to 90 percent, which would also help slow the fire.
A restricted fire season was declared in Northland at 8am on Friday, which means all outdoor fires will require a permit from FENZ until further notice.
Incident controller Graeme Quensell said the Whangārei fire proved the need for restrictions.
"It takes a large number of fire brigades, many of them volunteers, with supporting resources and aircraft to contain and control fires in Northland, so it's hoped introducing these restrictions now will help us avoid further wildfires," he said.
Blaze contained - firefighters to be stood down
Fire and Emergency said the Whangārei blaze is now under control, and firefighters will be stood down for the night at 8pm.
Incident controller Denis Cooper said several fire crews will be back in the morning to extinguish what's left of the 14-hectare vegetation fire and dampen down hotspots.
He said its been a huge effort by all of the firefighters and they've done a great job.
Cooper said the firefighters appreciate the support they've received from Whangārei residents.
Two properties were evacuated at the height of the fire on Thursday but no homes were lost.
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