The cause of a fire which destroyed a Bay of Plenty house is under investigation.

Firefighters were called to the blaze on Waitaruna Road in Galatea, near Murupara, in the Eastern Bay at 8.20pm on Saturday.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson says no one was home when the fire started.

The spokesperson says the occupants arrived home to find emergency services at the scene.

It took fire crew around an hour to get the fire under control.