Fire investigators work to establish cause of Far North blaze

Fire investigators are still working to establish the cause of a blaze that scorched almost 180 hectares in the Far North.

The blaze broke out on Saturday morning in the gumfields between Ahipara and Herekino, just south of Ninety Mile Beach.

Incident controller Rory Renwick said he was hopeful firefighters would be able to pack up today, after a three-day effort, and hand the site back to the landowners.

Four helicopters with monsoon buckets were deployed on Saturday to bring the blaze under control and stop it spreading into a nearby pine forest.

That was reduced to two choppers and ground crews on Sunday.

A drone flown over the fire ground on Sunday night did not detect any remaining hotspots, Renwick said.

A foot patrol was checking the site this afternoon.

Renwick said the problem was the consistent 30-35km/h north-to-northwest winds.

No property was damaged but it was only the combined effect of the helicopters and a valley with a change of vegetation that stopped the flames reaching a pine forest.

"It's common for people to get complacent when we're not having a drought. But with scrub, the reality is, all you need is a few hours of sun and a good wind behind it, and you can get a really rapid spread."

The fire was in mānuka and fern on private land.

Renwick said the gumfields vegetation was "fairly uncommon" and often contained threatened plants.

He could not comment on the cause while the investigation was still underway.