It could be weeks before a Northland fire spread out over 200 hectares is officially out, the Department of Conservation says.
The fire south of Dargaville, at Kelly's Bay. Photo: SUPPLED / Jamie Cowan, Incident Management Team
Residents in about 12 Kelly's Bay homes, south of Dargaville, have been warned they may have to leave if the wind picks up this afternoon.
One hundred people have been working on containing and putting out the blaze, which started on Monday night.
Department of Conservation spokesperson Sue Reed-Thomas said it would be some time before the fire was out.
"I'd be expecting weeks. You've got trees, you've got roots, you've got the underbrush growing, you've got the thinnings from the trees.
"So there's a lot of fuel under foot and it's potentially in the ground, you know, before you could actually say that a fire is out."
Ms Reed-Thomas said DoC was also working with the Forest Protection Services, and local forestry companies.
She said the first priority was for the safety of firefighters and residents.
"We have to be flexible depending on what the weather does and how the fire behaves in relation to that weather, it will potentially change our approach to the fire at that time."
The Department said fire crews would be working to strengthen the containment areas to stop the fire spreading.
Bulldozers, diggers, and helicopters would be used to contain the blaze.
The fire south of Dargaville, at Kelly's Bay. Photo: SUPPLED / Jamie Cowan, Incident Management Team
The fire south of Dargaville, at Kelly's Bay. Photo: SUPPLED / Jamie Cowan, Incident Management Team
