For the time being, 40 people have been evacuated from the sought-after tourist destination by air.
An extensive fire has already burned more than 1,000 hectares of the area and is not being brought under control, New Zealand authorities said on Sunday.
Firefighters and rescuers are currently responding with six fire trucks, five tankers, six helicopters and two airplanes.
Tongariro National Park was founded in 1887, and since 1993 it has been part of the UNESCO list of cultural and natural heritage. There are a number of volcanoes on its territory, of which Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are among the most active in the world.
The second of the volcanoes is the highest peak of the North Island and at the same time the highest volcano in New Zealand — it measures 2,797 meters.
The country served as the Black Land – Mordor for the film adaptation of the novel The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Thanks to the fact that people know this location from the film series by director Peter Jackson, tourism has increased in the area.
