'Evacuate now': Residents told to flee from their homes as massive fire blazes in Tasman District

A raging fire near Nelson has put nearby residents at risk, forcing emergency services to evacuate the area earlier today.

Its estimated the fire covers 780 hectares of forestry at Pigeon Valley with a perimeter of 14km following around 8-hours of burning.

At 10.30pm, 11 families had registered at the Civil Defence Centre after homes in the area were told to evacuate.

In a statement, Tasman District Council said they are expecting the number of families to register at the centre to increase.

Posted by Tasman-Marlborough Fire Area. on Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Strong winds which have fanned throughout the afternoon and evening has led to the fire creating its own extreme fire behaviour, the statement said.

"Due to this, crews have not been able to access the forest areas and are instead focusing on controlling the fire when it's spotted onto grassland," it said.

"Six helicopters have been working on the fire throughout the afternoon and evening and we are expecting another six tomorrow.

"Fire and Emergency have also requested two fixed-wing planes for tomorrow as well."

Overnight, 12 firefighting crews will be on site to monitor and manage any spot fires in the grasslands and protect any structures.

The statement said no one has been reported to have sustained any injuries and the wind is expected to ease before the morning with a northerly change.

— Stig Lindqvist (@stojg) February 5, 2019

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne said the fire was devastating for the local community.

"It's a wicked fire and we've got exceptionally dry forestry and there's been a strong wind blowing which has just whipped it through," he said.

"It's covered quite a lot of ground and it's really a very unpleasant fire, so it's really quite impactful."

Residents in Pigeon Valley, Eves Valley, Eves Valley Saw Mill and Golden Hills Rd in Appleby have all been told to evacuate.

As of 10.40pm, FENZ were advising those on Melling Rd to evacuate immediately.

Redwood Valley residents were told by emergency services to be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice.

The exact number forced to evacuate was not known, but Kempthorne said it could affect more than 100 properties.

He said the fire was difficult to fight and he was pleased with the efforts of emergency services.

Police are continuing to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand and asks people to avoid the area at all times while emergency services work to manage the incident.

Stephen Cox said the Nelson area hasn't seen rain in over a month and with dry conditions the wind is helping to fuel the fire.

Cox said he first heard sirens shortly after 2pm and only a small plume of smoke could be seen. Now there is a "huge ball of smoke".

"[It has been burning] at least two and a half hours ... there was only a small amount of smoke but since then we've had multiple fire engines, multiple police vehicles all hurtling out there," he said.

Police are urging those nearby to evacuate. Photo / Stephen Cox

"We haven't had rain here for weeks and weeks and there's quite a strong southwesterly wind helping the blaze."

"There's just a huge ball of smoke and [water] tankers going out there and fire engines going out there."

A Civil Defence centre has been opened at St Johns Anglican church, Edwards St, Wakefield to help those evacuated.

Three helicopters have been tasked to tackle the blaze, along with fire crews from throughout the area. Photo / Nelson Weekly.

A spokesman for the Tasman District Council asks people who have been evacuated to register at the centre to ensure their whereabouts is known regardless if they choose to stay at the centre or not.

Updates to the situation will be posted on the Tasman Marlborough Fire Area Facebook page.

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) February 5, 2019

Meanwhile, across Cook Strait, fire crews in Kapiti are fighting a mostly contained grass fire on Te Hapua Rd south of Te Horo.

A Fenz spokesperson said seven appliances are on the scene after the fire escalated to the third alarm earlier this afternoon.

Firefighters in the South Island were kept on their toes yesterday as separate fires in Canterbury and North Otago created headaches.

The sun is being shielded by smoke from the fire. Photo / Lucia Alonso-Gonzalez

Plumes of smoke from a scrub fire which runs alongside State Highway 1 in Templeton, near Christchurch, forced the closure of the highway.

The large blaze was ignited by a passing train around 3.30pm, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said.

Earlier today firefighters were called to a blaze that broke out in the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua.

The fire was about 20m by 30m in size and just 100m from a primary school.

FENZ fire risk areas

Extreme risk:

Northland, Coromandel, Nelson, Marlborough. A total fire ban is in place for these areas.

Fire restrictions: Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty, Central North Island, Wairarapa, Southland/Otago and, as of January 29, North Christchurch.

If you are in one of these areas and thinking about lighting a fire, go to www.checkitsalright.nz to check your fire type and, if needed, apply for a fire permit.