A fire at a scrap metal yard in Auckland’s Papakura has now been contained.
Fifteen fire trucks were at the scene on Hunua Rd, where the blaze was “expected to take several hours to fully extinguish”, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said in an update at 7.25pm.
Fire services were first alerted to the fire at 4.32pm.
“We are asking people to avoid the area so we can do our work safely,” a spokesperson earlier told 1News.
Counties Manukau Assistant Commander Chris Delfos said members of the public were warned of the smoke plume, “just to stay out of it and close their windows and doors”.
“We need to dampen the fire down, then kick it apart so we can get to the seat of the fire.”
Delfos said it was a hot time of the year and the fire was some distance from Hunua Road so fatigue was an issue for crews as they supplied firefighting assets to the scene.
“We’re using multiple aerial appliances and we’re establishing long feeder lines to supply those aerial appliances,” he said.
A mobile emergency alert was issued to mobile phones, advising nearby residents to “stay inside, close all windows, doors, stay out of smoke and wait for further instructions”.
Thick plumes of smoke can be seen billowing from the fire in Papakura. (Source: 1News)
Police have also been called to assist at the scene.
A spokesperson from nearby business Bloxham Automotive told 1News the blaze broke out next door to a timber plant.
“The fire keeps getting bigger and bigger and smoke is getting worse,” they said.
Thick plumes of smoke billowing from the fire could be seen across the south and east of Auckland, and from the Northwestern Motorway at Rosebank.
The eyewitness said the fire was being fuelled by tyres and scrap metal.
Delfos said a fire investigator was at the scene but needed to wait before they could get close enough to begin investigations. “We’ll be here for a few hours yet.”
Hunua Road was closed to traffic while the blaze was being brought under control, he added.
