An Auckland Council pollution team is at the Waitakere Refuse Transfer Station, which was damaged by a huge fire this afternoon.
About 70 firefighters were called to fight the blaze at the Waitakere Refuse Transfer Station in Henderson. Photo: RNZ / Joanna MacKenzie
The Fire Service said about 70 firefighters were called to the centre on The Concourse in Henderson.
It said it was now worried about the extra water with debris from the scene running off into a nearby estuary.
Incident controller John Booth told Checkpoint with John Campbell the fire had been put out.
It started in the middle of an outbuilding where recycled furniture was stored and spread quickly, he said.
Firefighters managed to save two thirds of the approximately 30m x 40m structure.
They would remain there overnight to make sure it did not flare up.
The Auckland Council said the site was evacuated and there were no reports of injuries.
The pollution investigation team would be working closely with the Fire Service to minimise any runoff, it said.
An eyewitness, who worked nearby, earlier told Checkpoint the smoke kept getting "denser and bigger and higher".
A large plume of smoke could be seen from kilometres away. Photo: Twitter / @FirecommNZ
He said the next nearest building was a few hundred metres away from the fire.
Traffic was backed up along the Northwestern Motorway, near the recycling station, during the incident.
