A large wildfire burning through New Zealand’s oldest national park has probably been extinguished after steady rainfall helped to suppress the flames, authorities say.
The fire in Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot in the central North Island, broke out on Saturday and has so far burnt through 2500ha of alpine bush.
In an update on Facebook late this afternoon, Fire and Emergency NZ said an afternoon observation flight had found "no visible signs of fire".
District Commander Nigel Dravitzki said the rain has had a significant impact in helping to suppress it, while ground crews had been working on the flanks of the blaze to strengthen containment lines.
"This is very good news," he said.
"Tonight, Fire and Emergency’s specialist drone crew will be using thermal imaging to detect where the hotspots are around the perimeter of the fireground, and tomorrow we will be able to position our ground crews to target those areas."
Iwi, the Department of Conservation and councils were involved in the discussions about the next steps in the management of the fire, he said.
"We are very mindful that another change in the weather could alter the situation and lead to a resurgence of fire activity, so we are planning for all contingencies."
Foggy conditions had hampered firefighting efforts earlier today, grounding helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
There were no reports of structures being damaged by the fire, which forced the evacuation of some residents and hikers over the weekend.
Residents evacuated yesterday from Whakapapa Village and five other properties could now return home, with a caution they need to be ready to move out again if the situation changed.
People who run businesses from their properties would not be able to have clients or customers on site for now, but that would be reassessed on Tuesday.
- Reuters and Allied Media
