Waipoua River fire update #5

28 February 2025

There were no significant flareups at the Waipoua River fire overnight.

Three helicopters, four heavy machinery, 50 ground crew and 15 Incident Management Team personnel are back at work this morning keeping on top of the fire and working to achieve full containment.

Incident Controller Corey Matchitt says it is still not safe for evacuated residents to return to their home.

"We are working hard to secure the area around the settlement of vegetation so we can get residents back as soon as it is safe.

"Today we have been able to arrange for people to go back to their homes briefly to pick up essentials.

"We know this is a really hard time for everyone who is away from their home during this fire. Evacuating has meant everyone is safe and we are grateful to the whanau and everyone supporting them at this time."

The fire remains 50 percent contained. The fire size is 100 hectares with a 4.5-kilometre perimeter. We are aiming to have the fire fully contained by tomorrow evening.

"This increase in size is a reflection of the fire moving out to our containment lines as planned," Corey Matchitt says.

"We have favourable conditions today with light winds, however, we still have very dry conditions, so we will be remaining vigilant.

Corey Matchitt reminded the public to stay away from the fire area.

"For the safety of the public and our crews, people are asked to stay away from the area."

The next update will be later today unless significant developments occur.