Ahipara fire. Source: Facebook, Daina Kane McPherson Matuschka
Four homes have been evacuated this morning after a scrub fire near a pā site in Ahipara.
Fire and Emergency spokesperson Paul Radden told Te Kāea the fire was in the vicinity of Maunga Perehere, a pā site which holds historical significance in Te Rarawa and Ngāti Kuri.
Ahipara resident Maryann Adlam lives only 500m from the area and saw the fire burning outside her window this morning.
“I wasn’t too anxious about it coming our way because the wind was blowing more to the west side," she says.
“I was more concerned about the homes on the pā site on Maunga Perehere. There are about half a dozen houses on there.”
Radden says fire and emergency services were called to the blaze on Foreshore Rd arond 1am this morning.
At the time, firefighters were made to withdraw until 6am due to the dangerous nature of the blaze, which covered almost five hectares of land.
He says there were no injuries or buildings affected by the fire and three helicopters will continue to work in the area for another hour.