Fire burns through northern Waikato wetlands. Photo: Fire and Emergency New Zealand
Fire and Emergency has handed the scrub fire near Meremere in Waikato, back to the Department of Conservation.
It is estimated the blaze burnt through 1039 hectares over five days, much of it through the Whangamarino Wetland, an area of great ecological and cultural significance.
The Whangamarino Wetland is the second largest freshwater wetland in the North Island - covering almost 7000 hectares.
However, Fire and Emergency 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."
Fire and Emergency, DOC and iwi together were able to save around 148 hectares of the area.
DOC regional director Tinaka Mearns said it worked closely with Fire and Emergency, Ngā Muka linking to Ngāti Naho, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Māhuta and other groups from the beginning to ensure ecologically and culturally sensitive areas threatened by the fire were prioritised for protection.
"While saddened by the devastating damage, we're incredibly proud the teams who worked to salvage parts of the internationally recognised Whangamarino wetland. This wetland is of very high ecological significance, hosting threatened plants and animal species including critically endangered orchids. The areas protected from the fire will be crucial to the recovery as a vegetation and seed source."
"The peat soils also store large amounts of carbon. The fire released an estimated 96,000-181,800 tonnes of greenhouse gasses back into the atmosphere. This would be worth $5.1-$9.6 million based on current carbon markets."
Iwi representative Kelvin Tupuhi said the focus was now on the future of the area the fire destroyed.
"We are very thankful to the team for showing protection and care to the area that holds significant ecological and culture values to manu whenua, and for considering this at the forefront of all operations."
Fire and Emergency were alerted to the large vegetation fire at around 1.15pm on 21 October.
Fire crews initially worked to ensure residential properties were well protected while eight helicopters and two fixed wing aircraft attacked the fire from the air.
An investigation into the origin and cause of the fire is underway.