Fire crews work to put out the scrub fire.
A worker at Whangamarino School in Mourea said she went to get her lunch and saw what looked like someone burning rubbish on a rural property. She said there was not much smoke at that stage, but one of their bus drivers had just come in saying there was a decent amount coming from the property. "It must have gotten bigger."
An Okere Falls store worker said they could not see any smoke from their store, but had heard a call-out between their store and Mourea.
Fire crews have been at the scene since 1.40pm.