The man responsible for a scrub fire in the Far North is blaming unusually dry conditions and imported plants.
The fire near Ahipara on Sunday burned through 20 hectares of bush and scrub and forced the evacuation of nearby homes.
Rueben Taipari says a rubbish fire in his incinerator jumped to nearby gorse and kikuyu.
"All of these introduced species are prolific in the far north. For us with the sub-tropical temperature we have, we are inundated with wild weeds from overseas, and those are the species that caught on fire, all the gorse and kikuyu and pampas, so fast it was incredible," he says.
The fire was was extinguished with the help of two helicopters with monsoon buckets which drew water from Te Rarawa's new reservoir.
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