Extra firefighters will be at the site of the Northland blaze near Kaimaumau today as easterly winds continue.
Heavy machinery was brought in to widen an existing track and create firebreaks, as well as around orchards, around Kaimaumau village on 20 December, 2021. Photo: Facebook / Northland - Fire and Emergency
There were 40 fire crews expected on site today, almost double yesterday's numbers.
Incident controller John Sutton said it was likely residents nearby would see more smoke today because of the winds.
However, he said they should not be alarmed, but should be prepared to move if the fire broke over the boundary.
"We're very much weather dependent when we're fighting these fires. So we have to be agile and we have to be prepared to move to where the pressure points are," Sutton said.
"It's over 30km around where this fire [is], we can't be shoulder to shoulder around it, so we have to pick our priorities, and anticipate them too, which we are doing."
Sutton said firefighters were using up a lot of water, but were also getting co-operation from nearby orchardists, who were allowing them to plumb into their irrigation systems.
"Without them, we'd be quite limited. The amount of crews we can sustain on the ground is determined by the amount of water we can get to them."
People are urged to stay indoors and shut windows, and call Healthline if they suffered respiratory issues.
Firefighters have been battling the blaze for about 16 days, but it flared up again on New Year's Day, forcing residents to evacuate for a second time.
The two-week-old fire in wetland and vegetation started moving again, propelled by the sea breeze.
Heavy machinery has been used in recent days to widen the firebreaks near the village, so that residents could return home.
It is estimated the fire has covered almost 2400 hectares.