Fire crews battle massive blaze in Hawke's Bay | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Last night's massive fire at Hawk Packaging in Hastings required fire appliances from as far afield as Palmerston North.

Area Commander Chris Nicoll said the fire was a struggle to contain.

"You don't get any bigger," he said.

The fire broke out around 9pm last night, sending smoke billowing into the sky and flames leaping "at least" 20 metres into the air.

An area 100m x 50m contained pallets stacked with paper and cardboard for the upcoming apple harvest, due to start next month.

Mr Nicoll said the fire was virtually extinguished.

"We are still having trouble extinguishing the flames amongst the pallets and bins of cardboard and paper."

He said all fire crews in the Hawke's Bay area were called to the blaze, which threatened four other properties.

Volunteer firemen covered Napier and Hastings while the blaze was being fought.

Other fire calls came in at this time, including a house fire in the coastal settlement of Waimarama where a house was destroyed.

The Palmerston North appliance was a Bronto aerial appliance.

Hawke Packaging staff assisted firefighters in removing further combustible material from the area.

With the size of the fire overwhelming the available water supply to fight it, the decision was made to let the fire burn and protect the surrounding properties.

The intense heat activated the internal sprinkler system of a nearby factory.