'It's devastating': Owners left reeling after large blaze at Whakatāne car wreckers yard 21 Feb, 2021 10:27 PM 3 minutes to read Footage of fire in Whakatane. The owners of a Whakatāne car wreckers yard were out of town when they received the call that their business was completely up in flames this morning. Matthew Lack and Nicole Rackham's RIP Car Wreckers went up in flames about 11am today, sending smoke across the Eastern Bay of Plenty town. "Obviously it's devastating. But our main concern was always our staff," Rackham said. "We were so thankful to hear that no one had been hurt. We are okay with the aftermath of what happened because of that.