Scrub fire in Kahurangi National Park extinguished

4:59 pm on 2 January 2020

Helicopters have been stood down from the site of a fire in the Kahurangi National Park in the northwest of the South Island.

A firefighter on scene at an incident. 6 July 2016.

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) shift manager Daniel Reilly said a fire at the summit of an area known as Lodestone was first reported around 9.45am on Thursday.

Four ground crews and a helicopter responded to the fire and FENZ said in a statement around midday the fire had been contained.

However, it said the fire had flared up again about 1pm and a second helicopter was deployed to fight the blaze.

A spokesperson said the fire has been contained, and ground crews were damping down hot spots.

They say the fire was relatively small - at about 20m by 20m - but access was difficult due to its remoteness.