Friday's headlines: Four homes destroyed by scrub fires in Canterbury; Hamilton police close to shooting three people in the past month after being confronted with fake weapons; record high score South Island primary schools cricket tournament.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald leads with homes destroyed and families forced to flee as scrub fires burned out of control in Canterbury.
Strong winds swept multiple blazes through dry fields and over roads south of Christchurch. All the homes were near Prebbleton, on the southwest edge of the city.
Waikato Times
The Waikato Times says cases of suspected child abuse or neglect reported in Waikato leapt 16% amid calls for mandatory frontline reporting to be introduced.
Hamilton police area commander Greg Nicholls says someone could end up dead if members of the public keep brandishing imitation firearms around police.
He said officers have come close to shooting three people in the past month after being confronted with fake weapons.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post says malnourished children have been discovered sleeping rough at their parents home in a case of alleged serious neglect.
Four children aged from seven months to four years are now in the custody of Child Youth & Family. ACC is looking at new training for its staff on how to improve relationships with its clients.
The Press
The Press says at least four homes have been destroyed in the fires.
The paper interviews Deanna and David hartley who have lost their home and left with just the clothes they were standing in. The couple, in their 70s, had lived there for 40 years.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times leads with a threat of minor flooding. People around Lakes Wanaka and Wakatipu appear to have survived the past two days of heavy rain unscathed, but with lake levels due to peak on Friday, there is still a small flood risk.
The ODT also has the story of a boy aged 12, who played his way into the record books on Thursday when he scored 159 for North Otago at the South Island primary schools cricket tournament.
It's the highest score made at the annual tournament, which is in its 50th year.
