Fire and Emergency have handed the site of a large vegetation fire which burned through more than 1000 hectares of “environmentally significant” wetlands in north Waikato back to the Department of Conservation.
Crews were alerted to the fire, estimated to have burnt through 1039 hectares over five days, on Monday afternoon.
At its peak, eight helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft attacked the fire from the air.
Incident controller Mark Tinworth said the fire has now been fully contained and under control for three days.
“There will continue to be some hot spots and our crews will remain on site to support DOC fire crews over the long weekend monitoring and dampening them down.”
Tinworth said that with “significant support” from iwi and DOC “we managed to save around 148 hectares of this area”.
The fire front is now 10km wide and has burned through around 477 hectares. (Supplied: Fire and Emergency NZ) (Source: Supplied)
DOC regional director Tinaka Mearns said ecologically and culturally sensitive areas threatened by the fire were prioritised for protection from the beginning of the response.
The wetland is home to a range of native birds, fish and plants.
“While saddened by the devastating damage, we’re incredibly proud the teams who worked to salvage parts of the internationally recognised Whangamarino wetland.”
Mearns said the wetland was of “very high” ecological significance and that it hosted threatened plants and animal species.
“The areas protected from the fire will be crucial to the recovery as a vegetation and seed source.”
An estimated 96,000-181,800 tonnes of greenhouse gases were released back into the atmosphere by the fire, Mearns said.
“This would be worth $5.1-$9.6m based on current carbon markets.”
Iwi representative Kelvin Tupuhi said the focus would be on the future for the area destroyed by the fire.
“We are very thankful to the team for showing protection and care to the area that holds significant ecological and culture values to mana whenua, and for considering this at the forefront of all operations.”