Houses saved from Ruakaka scrub fire

Houses saved from Ruakaka scrub fire

Firefighters in Ruakaka near Whangarei managed to stop a scrub fire from spreading to neighbouring houses late last night.

The Fire Service was called out to the fire, estimated to be around 600sqm, in tall grass which was being fuelled by a 30 knot wind.

Chief Fire Officer Darrell Trigg said the conditions faced were "pretty challenging" for at least 30 crews from four stations.

"It was up on a ridge and we managed to get to both sides of the ridge.

Chief Fire Officer Darrell Trigg

"There was a  bit of concern right at the start – there was a lot of ember transfer that was flying over the houses so it was something we had to put a lot of effort into to ensure none of it sat in the gutters or anything and we ended up with a house fire," Mr Trigg said.

He praised the work of the volunteer brigade who had to work in difficult conditions to contain the fire.

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