Car yard engulfed in flames in Papakura, Auckland

Fire crews from across Auckland are battling a blaze at a car yard in the suburb of Papakura.

Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) received multiple calls on the Parker St fire just after 3pm on Sunday, and a spokesperson says the fire was well-involved when they arrived.

At 4:10pm, the blaze reached fifth alarm - a status reserved for only the largest fires - but is now at a fourth alarm.

FENZ says there are about 25 fire engines in attendance from across Auckland, including one from the airport.

The fire's size is about 110 metres by 80 metres.

St John is on standby while firefighters douse the flames.

People are asked to avoid the area and plan alternate travel as the fire spreads.

There are cordens in place at Calvert St and Hunua Rd, Boundary Rd and Hunua Rd, and Boundary Rd train tracks near Otuwairoa Stream.

Police say roads are expected to be closed for some time.

Car yard engulfed in flames in Papakura, Auckland
Photo credit: Supplied / Darran Somner

Residents southeast and down wind of the fire are to put house protection measures in place, FENZ says. This includes closing windows and doors since there's a large smoke hazard from burning cars and buildings.

Darran Somner, who is a resident on a cordoned off street, says there are still big flames and he's heard some explosions.

"When the big explosions were going off before, because we've got our kids living with us at the moment, they were getting quite concerned about it because they were quite loud bangs and quite a lot of vibration in the ground," he tells Newshub.

He believes he's safe where he is right now and authorities aren't concerned since he's back quite far.

Another local, James Temple, says while there's a lot of dirt everywhere and he needs to close his windows, but the fire isn't big enough to affect him.

"[The fire is] just a massive black plume across the sky everywhere," he tells Newshub.

He says he's concerned about the explosions and "loud bangs" coming from the car yard - there are about "five every 30 seconds".

"It's just concerning because you don't know whether it's gunshots or not or if a piece of debris is going to hit your house."

FENZ says as of Sunday night, the fire is under control and crews are checking hotspots and extinguishing any potential spot fires as the arise. They will also have a "significant presence" at the fire throughout Sunday night.

A fire investigator will be on the scene on Monday morning to find out the cause of the blaze.

Cordons are expected to remain in place over Sunday night.