Papakura residents have been told to stay inside their homes with their windows shut after a large fire broke out in a scrap metal yard.
An alert issued by Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) says a fire at an industrial property in Hunua Rd, Papakura, is producing large amounts of smoke.
“Everyone to the south of Hunua Rd must stay inside with doors and windows shut to avoid being exposed to the smoke.”
In a statement, FENZ said it had 15 trucks and crews at the scene, including three aerial appliances and a command unit. By 7.30pm firefighters have contained the blaze but it will still take several hours to before it’s completely out.
FENZ asks people to avoid the Hunua Road area so traffic doesn’t delay emergency services.
The nearby suburb of Red Hill is cloaked in a thick cloud of smoke, while the smoke has reportedly been seen from as far north as East Tamaki and south at Drury.
It is believed to be the same scrap metal yard that had a large fire in 2021.
