Smoke from the fire on the edge of Pōrangahau. Photo: Supplied
The Central Hawke's Bay village of Pōrangahau is on standby for a possible evacuation with a pine forest fire burning nearby.
Five bush fires are burning in the region, and one of them is three hectares in size.
Pōrangahau resident Tania Nicholas told RNZ the fire was right on the outskirts of the village.
"So we can see lots of billowing smoke coming over and we do know that there has been at least one house that has chosen to evacuate because the smoke is too intense in their home," she said.
Tania's husband is a volunteer firefighter, and she said crew have been stood down for the night because it was too unsafe.
"They pull them out if it's too much, and this wind is so fierce. Porangahau is known for its wind, but this afternoon it was a wind a lot of people were saying they'd not experienced before," she said.
She said residents have received an emergency text alert asking them to close their windows and doors to keep smoke out, and be prepared for an evacuation.
Five houses have self evacuated, including local Piri Galbraith who told RNZ their house is less than a kilometre from one of the fires.
"I just noticed all this grey outside and thought holy shingos - what is that? We had a bit of ash and dust, smoke ash coming from windows being open," she said.
Piri's family is staying with her parents near Porangahau village, and said there are lots of fire trucks and police in the area.
"The fire station is pretty chocka, there's a salvation army truck with all the essentials. It's just a waiting game now," she said.
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