More than 30 firefighters and three helicopters continue to battle the vegetation fire on Matakana Island.
Crews worked overnight to create firebreaks to hold back the blaze that’s burnt through about 37 hectares of scrub and pine slash, Fire and Emergency’s District Commander Jeff Maunder said.
He said it was a long and arduous task dealing with deep-seated shrub fires, but the fire was completely contained by midday on Monday.
The fire, which broke out on Saturday night, sent plumes of black smoke over the skyline in western Bay of Plenty.
Bay of Plenty locals are posting to social media with pictures of the fire and smoke which were visible from nearby Tauranga.
Resident Leanne Swinburne witnessed the blaze at its brightest..
“You could clearly just see this big, raging, orange fire on the island.”
“You could just see big black clouds of smoke.”
She said nearby cars were covered in ash and some locals were getting respiratory issues.
Helicopters with monsoon buckets, heavy machinery and fire crews were still at the scene on Monday morning. Drones are due to fly over on Monday night to check for hotspots.
FENZ was alerted to the blaze about 7.30pm on Saturday and sent several crews to the island.
Fire and Emergency said no houses were at risk.
Civil Defence said there have been no evacuations so far.
The district’s mayor, James Denyer, said the fire was very worrying. However, he was confident fire crews would be able to get the blaze under control.
“I was just devastated that such a thing could happen. Any fire on Matakana is serious and has the potential to have far-reaching consequences.”
Denyer said he was concerned about further bushfires as the region got drier over summer.
Tauranga Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston said he could see the glow of the fire from his house.
He said a family member told him the community had offered food and support to fire crews staying overnight on the island.
Matakana Island was prone to bushfires in summer because it was so dry, Rolleston told RNZ.
Late Saturday night, shift manager Garreth Lewis described the fire as about 300 metres by 300 metres, and “very visible from the mainland”.
The island has a small resident population and people are being asked to stay away from the fire.
