Waikato residents near a massive landfill fire which has now been contained have today been told they can start collecting rain - but only after rain washes their roofs clean.
A large fire broke out yesterday morning at the EnviroWaste landfill at Hampton Downs, leading Fire and Emergency NZ to warn residents to keep their home closed and to stop collecting rain water from roof systems.
That advice has this morning been clarified, with the fire service now advising that the fire is contained, and that once a roof has had a couple of hours of rain to wash any particles off it is safe enough to begin collecting water again.
"Rain is predicted for your area," Fire and Emergency said on Facebook. "1-2 hours of solid rain will be enough to clean roofs and if no smoke/steam is near you, you can re-open down pipes".
MetService is forecasting heavy rain for the area beginning in the afternoon and getting heavier in the evening.
Fire service officials said they've been told the fire was in an area where only general household waste was accepted, and there is no risk of asbestos exposure from the smoke.
The fire is not being treated as a hazardous substance fire, they said, and the majority of the cloud coming from the fire is now steam.
Hampton Downs resident Karen Crisp said she felt residents had not been given timely updates, leading to "a lot of stress".
Collecting rain water after such a long period with little rain is absolutely crucial, she said, and residents should have been given clearer instructions on whether or not they could use the rain which fell yesterday, and what was involved in cleaning their roof.
"The area's in drought, for Christ's sake - people are panicking. People are so distressed in this area," Ms Crisp said.
"People have got no water in their tanks and finally we get some and we've been told we can't use it.
"I'm disgusted, I'm so incensed with this ... It's just not good enough."
Ms Crisp said many in the area don't have reliable internet access, so it was disappointing that the updates were issued only through social media.
"The lack of information thats coming across the district at a time when people really, really need to know - we've got animals out there.
"People have shut their tanks off and it's water that we need - desperately need.
"We've got vegetable growers in the whole district ... What about that? Are they going to sell those lettuces at the market tomorrow morning?"
Fire and Emergency said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Spokesperson for EnviroWaste Joanne Keane said "EnviroWaste does not wish to comment on the fire" and referred inquiries back to the fire service.
EnviroWaste declined to offer a public apology to affected residents, saying "we are dealing with these people directly".
Ms Crisp told 1 NEWS she had made numerous phone calls to EnviroWaste, and had spoken with representatives, who eventually called her back, offering to clean her roof and replenish her tank some time in the near future.
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