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A large scrub fire is triggered by New Year fireworks at Piha, west Auckland - Source: ONE News
A large scrub fire was sparked by New Year fireworks just after midnight at Piha in west Auckland.
A helicopter with monsoon buckets had to be brought in because the 10 fire appliances were not able to reach the hillside fire.
Firefighters on the ground had to fill the monsoon buckets on the helipad, as strong winds made it impossible to fill it with sea water.
No homes were damaged in the blaze but firefighters are still dampening down the area.
New Year fireworks and the current craze for releasing candle-powered lanterns are thought to be the reasons for a swag of bush fires around the country.
Rural firefighters have been dealing with more than half a dozen blazes at the top of the North Island.
Christchurch homes evacuated
Meanwhile, several homes in Christchurch have been evacuated on Friday after an early morning fire at a flower company sparked a chemical scare.
The blaze broke out at Moffat's flower company at around 5am after a boiler caught fire in a shed.
Assistant Area Commander Greg Crawford says while the fire itself was fairly minor, the shed also contained a tonne of calcium nitrate which went up in smoke.
He says it is not the sort of thing you would want to breathe in, so nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution.
Crawford says no one was injured but 16 firefighters had to be decontaminated.
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