Large fire on Māngere Mountain in Auckland; smoke warning for West Auckland
At its peak, the fire’s glowing red and orange flames and thick, grey smoke could be seen from kilometres away before the fire was brought under control.
An emergency mobile alert was sent to those living within 2km to the south-west of the maunga, but has since been lifted, Fire and Emergency Counties Manukau wrote on their Facebook page.
“The fire at Māngere Mountain is now almost fully contained”, they wrote in the most recent update about 4am.
“Crews will continue to work … into the day to fully extinguish the fire.”
Although the emergency mobile alert had been lifted, there was still smoke in the area, they wrote.
“If you are affected, please keep windows and doors closed and seek medical attention if you are feeling unwell due to smoke.’
The fire began just before 9.30pm last night, with Fire and Emergency receiving multiple calls about the vegetation fire on the maunga, which is near Domain Rd.
It was around a hectare in size and seven crews were initially sent to help.
The fire had spread to cover around 3ha by 12.40am, Fire and Emergency Counties Manukau assistant commander Dale Tawa said.
At its peak around 50 firefighters were battling the blaze, including from two tankers, as well as crews in 4WDs from Hunua due to challenging access.
“This is quite a big fire for a suburban area; unfortunately, it’s not foreign to this maunga.”
They’d been told the fire was caused by a bonfire on top of the maunga.
“The initial reports indicated that people were seen lighting the fire, but when we arrived, we couldn’t find anyone on site.”
Police were on the scene, and Auckland Council and iwi have been told about the fire, he said.
Iwi and the council co-govern maunga across Tāmaki Makaurau through the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
Tawa warned Aucklanders to take care “absolute care and considerations” with fires.
“As people should be aware, we are currently in a restricted fire season. Since Friday, we have been on high alert, and we are not yet out of the danger zone.
“High winds are still expected over the next few days, and we are uncertain if we will receive the predicted rainfall.”
The blaze is the second major fire in Auckland this weekend, after firefighters were called to the multi-million dollar former site of the Centrepoint commune early on Saturday.
The abandoned site has been used by squatters recently, a fire chief said yesterday.
Survivors of the controversial spiritual commune – including those who lived there at Centrepoint children in the 1970s and 1980s – have previously spoken of harrowing experiences at the 7.62ha site in Albany.
Centrepoint, which was shut down in 2000, was led by late convicted sex offender Bert Potter.
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
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