Photo: Supplied

Fire crews are battling a large vegetation fire in Cape Reinga.

The Cape Reinga lighthouse and a nearby campground have been evacuated, and State Highway 1 is closed north of Te Paki Stream Road.

Fire and Emergency incident controller Rory Renwick said 10 helicopters were helping ground crews. However, conditions for the helicopters were currently difficult, with strong gusty southerlies

“They are preventing the fire from flaring and spreading further to the north and our expectation is that we will be able to continue to hold it; however if it does get away, it will be hard to stop,” Renwick said.

The wind was expected to change direction on Friday so Renwick said ground crews were focused on the southern edge of the fire.

Fire and Emergency said the fire, which began yesterday, had spread to cover 390 hectares, much of it culturally or environmentally significant.