Northland firefighters battle vegetation fire on Karikari Peninsula

Firefighters are today battling a vegetation fire, above, on Northland's Karikari Peninsula.

Fire crews from Karikari and Mangonui are fighting a vegetation fire on the Karikari Peninsula in the Far North.

Fire and Emergency District Manager Wipari Henwood said the ground crews were being supported by six helicopters as well as heavy machinery and a command unit as they try to bring the fire under control.

The fire is burning on conservation land and at this stage no homes or other structures are at risk.

However, Henwood said there were strong easterly winds forecast today, and he expected the crews would be on the scene all day.

While the cause of the fire has not been established, Henwood said it appeared to have started near a layby on Inland Rd.

The Far North is in a prohibited fire season so Henwood is reminding people to avoid lighting fires in the open as the fire danger is very high.

The blaze comes just days after Northland's biggest firefighting operation in decades, that burnt around 2828ha of nearby Kaimaumau wetland, was finally under control after burning for 42 days.

That fire had 80 fire fighters working on it at the peak of the fire - backed by an incident management team of 36 people based in Waiharara Hall, about 30km north of Kaitaia.

To check the status of your area's fire season, and what that means, go to checkitsalright.nz.