Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews have continued work to extinguish a blaze of more than 2500ha which has been burning in Tongariro National Park since Saturday.
Around 13 helicopter crews and five planes were battling the wildfire, alongside partner agencies on the ground.
As of this morning, the fire was around 20% contained.
Some residents and trampers were evacuated from the area yesterday, and Ruapehu Distrit Mayor Weston Kirton earlier warned tourists to avoid the area and treat this as an “emergency situation”.
Fire and Emergency District Commander Nigel Dravitzki and partner agencies provided an update to media this afternoon.
