Mount Maunganui's walking tracks are back open to the public today after an intentionally lit fire ravaged the hillside.
A thrown firework scorched nearly 1000 square metres of the landmark last week.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby says he can't comprehend the behaviour.
"It's just an absolutely reckless act, putting Mauao, which is commonly called Mt Maunganui, at risk like that and also potentially endangering lives if that fire had spread."
Mr Crosby says it wasn't cheap to extinguish the blaze.
"It will be quite a significant cost, we don't know what it is yet but we certainly did have the New Zealand Fire Service, the Royal Fire Service and two helicopters operating for some time."
He says luckily tourist numbers have not been affected.
RadioLIVE
