The Prime Minister says as she flew into Nelson she could see the true scale of the massive Tasman bush fire. Jacinda Ardern has met emergency services battling the blaze in Pigeon Valley today.
Ardern says trying to control the fire is a massive undertaking.
Incident controller John Sutton says it's almost certain the fire was the result of agricultural machinery. He says it was a highly accidental event with a totally unintended consequence.
While yesterday had been a good day, making progress in containing the fire, the firefighters had a lot of work ahead of them. Sutton said some firefighters were experiencing fatigue and they were trying to fly in more firefighters.
Also today: unemployment figures have risen higher than expected, and the Grace Millane murder-accused continues to fight to keep his name secret.