About 70 firefighters are working to extinguish a fire in native bush near Meremere in the upper Waikato region, that's led to the closure of the main railway line.
File pic Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Fire and Emergency incident controller Thomas Harre said the fire covers about five hectares of native bush including peat alongside the main trunk railway line, which has been closed.
While the fire is visible from State Highway 1, the road is not affected.
No structures are at risk and conditions are currently calm, which is helping firefighting efforts.
Crews will remain on the scene overnight and helicopters will be brought in to support ground operations from about 7am.
Harre says they were alerted to the fire just before 7pm and brigades have responded from both the Counties Manukau and Waikato Districts.