Photo: RNZ / Susan Edmonds

Helicopters will back at first light battling the Northland scrub fire that has destroyed about 20 hectares of vegetation.

The blaze broke out at Whangārei Heads early on Thursday afternoon and quickly spread.

Crews from Whangārei and Onerahi were bolstered by four helicopters with monsoon buckets and another one monitoring the fire.

The residents of two homes evacuated, and crews put protection measures in place overnight at one of the properties.

It’s not yet known how the fire started but it’s expected to take another two days to extinguish.

Smoke at Whangārei Heads from a vegetation fire can be seen from the water.
Photo: Supplied / Diane Green

Fire limits in Waikato

Fire restrictions are in place for all of Waikato District as of Friday.

Anyone wanting to light an outdoor fire from 9am today will need a permit authorised by Fire and Emergency.

The fire service’s Waikato district manager, Daryl Trim, said the risk of fires getting out of control continued to increase, despite the recent cooler conditions.

Conditions were expected to dry out further and crews were continuing to monitor the weather and the fire risk.