Waikato Wetlands Blaze: 1,000 Hectares Burned, Firefighters Face Challenging Peat Fires

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews have started the third day of fighting a large vegetation fire near Meremere, which includes the Whangamarino wetlands.

Incident Controller Mark Tinworth says the fire now has a perimeter of 15 kilometres and has burned more than 1,000 hectares of land.

"This is a large fire and it could take some days to bring it under control properly," he says.

"Peat fires are particularly challenging, as they can continue to burn underground and can be hard to find and extinguish."

There are currently more than 50 Fire and Emergency personnel involved in the firefighting operation, supported by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Fire Investigators are on the scene, but an origin and cause of the fire have not yet been confirmed.

"There is a lot of smoke in the area, so we’re advising local people to keep windows and doors closed, and to avoid the area altogether if possible."