Crews have returned to a 400ha scrub fire at Cape Reinga on Thursday morning, ready to continue battling it at first light.

Speaking to the AM Show on Thursday morning, Fire and Emergency’s Northland district manager Wipare Henwood said crews were confident the fire was “pretty benign” overnight.

Though wild weather was battering Wellington and Wairarapa on Thursday, the cooler temperatures would be helping firefighters control the blaze, he said.

There would be seven helicopters and 40 crew working the fire from 7.30am.

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Henwood said while the fire was under control, “it’s the fuel type you can never be assured of.”

Strong winds of 30kph also made controlling the blaze tricky.

State Highway 1 remains closed in both directions but Henwood hoped to be able to reopen it on Thursday.

The crews had initial worries about the Cape Reinga lighthouse and focused initial helicopter attention on it, Henwood said.

The fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon about 5km from the lighthouse, with local iwi Ngāti Kuri alerting Fire and Emergency to the blaze.

Henwood said the fire broke out near a walking track and an investigator would look at the cause.

Four local helicopters tried to extinguish the blaze on Tuesday night but were unable to, he said.