'Doing everything we can' - firefighters say it will take three weeks to put put massive Chatham Islands fire

February 9, 2018

The fire is now burning over 2000 hectares, but residents have been able to return home.

A massive scrub fire which broke out on the Chatham Islands late last week could take up to three weeks to fully extinguish according to Fire and Emergency NZ.

Fire services say the blaze has ripped through approximately 2500 hectares of land, which is equivalent to about 3000 rugby fields.

They have been battling the fire since it broke out on February 1, using helicopters and ground crews to contain the blaze.

"Firefighters and helicopter pilots have been working 11 hour days to get this thing under control, and now they’re working equally hard to extinguish it, hopefully by the end of the month," Principal Rural Fire Officer Craig Cottril says.

The sheer size of the fire means crews expect to be fighting the blaze until the end of the month.

"Because the fire is so big, it’s going to take some time until it’s fully out, but we are doing everything we can to extinguish it by February 28," Officer Cottril says.

An investigation into what caused the blaze is continuing.

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