Photo: Fire and Emergency NZ

Around 50 firefighters are back on the fire ground at Kirwee as work continues to extinguish the fire.

There were no significant flareups overnight and the Fire and Emergency drone team onwas able to successfully map the fire, highlighting key hotspot areas which crews will target today.

Supporting the 50 firefighters will be an Incident Management Team, three excavators, multiple tankers and one helicopter.

Speed restrictions on the roads around the fire ground are still in place. This is for both the safety of motorists driving through smoke, and to keep our ground crews safe while they work in and around the fire perimeter.

Investigators will be on site today as they work to establish the cause of this fire.

Incident Controller Dave Berry says it will be another very hot, dry day for the crews to be working in.

“The aim for our crews today is to increase the dampened down areas around the permitter and continue to put out hotspots.

“Conditions will be challenging for our crews and we will be ensuring they are well hydrated, fed and rested throughout the day.

“With the temperature set to go over 30 degrees, I again must reiterate the caution needed by everyone in the region when it comes to fire safety.

“Check your burn piles if you have burned in the last few weeks and we ask everyone to ensure they don’t carry out any activity that may cause a spark and ignition, such as mowing or working with power tools.

“As always, if anyone sees smoke or fire, please ring 111 immediately. The quicker we can get to a fire, the more chance we have of putting it out before it can spread.”

The next update will be this afternoon, around 3pm.