The two homes that evacuated yesterday have now returned home. While yesterday our crews focused on structure protection, today the focus turns to getting a containment line around the fire.

Incident Controller, Graeme Quensell, says "The fire is still approximately 20 hectares and we have multiple ground crews on site today. We have two helicopters working on the fire today, and this work started at first light. They will be operating around Whangārei airport flight times and will be grounded around arrivals and departures to make sure there’s no disruption to the public.

"Te Tai Tokerau Northland moves into a restricted fire season from 8am today, Friday 10 January. This means that anyone who wants to light an outdoor fire will need a fire permit authorised by Fire and Emergency, which can be applied for at checkitsalright.nz. As we have seen with this fire, it takes a large number of fire brigades, many of them volunteers, with supporting resources and aircraft to contain and control fires in Northland, so it’s hoped introducing these restrictions now will help us avoid further wildfires."

We don't anticipate any road closures today but please take care driving through the area where there will be multiple firefighters working in the area.

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