Rain helps stall wildfire in New Zealand's oldest national park

Rain has helped curb the spread of a wildfire in New Zealand's oldest national park, though mist and foggy weather conditions forced the grounding of all rescue aircraft and delayed some firefighting efforts, authorities said on Monday.

Rain has helped curb the spread of a wildfire in New Zealand's oldest national park, though mist and foggy weather conditions forced the grounding of all rescue aircraft and delayed some firefighting efforts, authorities said on Monday. Firefighters since Saturday have battled to extinguish the fire in Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot in New Zealand's North Island, which has so far burnt around 2,500 hectares (10 square miles).

"The fire size is likely to have increased a little ... a more detailed reconnaissance will be carried out when the weather improves," Fire and Emergency District Commander Nigel Dravitzki said in a statement. Several ground rescue crews have begun operations, while 15 helicopters and five fixed-wing planes were on standby to resume operations when the weather clears, Dravitzki said.

New Zealand's national weather bureau, MetService, has forecast possible thunderstorms in the national park region on Monday afternoon. There are no reports of structures being damaged from the fire, which forced the evacuation of some residents and hikers over the weekend.

Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell told the New Zealand Herald he had "no idea" how the fire started, but said it was being treated as a crime scene by officials.