Dry conditions keep South Island firefighters busy

An 80m long fire in a macrocarpa hedge 15km north of Timaru is one of many blazes keeping South Island firefighters busy Sunday.

The blaze, near the intersection of Badham and Looker roads, also set fire to a pit of tyres. Four fire appliances from Temuka and Pleasant Point have been battling the blaze since 6.03pm.

Fire Service shift manager Brent Dunn said the blaze was not under control at 7pm. Mr Dunn said fires spread across the South Island were caused by the hot, dry conditions. Winds reached 160kmh in Canterbury.

Further south, six fire crews and helicopters battling a fire at Outram brought that fire under control around 3.30pm.

Otago Rural Fire Society spokeswoman Stephanie Rotarangi said helicopters were still helping to put the fire out late this afternoon.

"We are confident that the fire is contained now so we are just working on putting it out.

"She said they had managed to protect the houses nearby."

The New Zealand Fire Service and the Otago Rural Fire Society have done a great job with protecting these houses today."

Ms Rotarangi said she was unable to say when those evacuated would be allowed back into their homes and a decision would be made later in the day.

The fire, along the ridge of the Maungatua Hill Range, forced the evacuation of a number of properties on nearby McKendry Rd this morning.

Residents in neighbouring Woodside were also contacted regarding a potential evacuation if the fire was to spread.

Annette Harrex has 2000 ha of property with her husband on the shoulder of McKendry Rd and State Highway 87.

She said she believed the fire had affected part of their property.

"Most of it that's burning is gorse and some bush and scrub and it has come down on to neighbours and burnt some of their trees," she said.

Ms Harrex said in September they did a controlled burn off of their farm to clear some paddock for cultivating.

She said everything was all clear for the last six weeks.

"Just overnight in the winds it has fanned up, started off as a puff of smoke and next minute it's burning right across the front of the hill."

She said the fire got quite close to some properties and at one stage was within about 20m of one house.

The Fire Service and police have asked members of the public to stay away from SH87 near Outram.

A third large scrub fire was also fought on the Banks Peninsula today.

Fire Services received a call after pine trees caught fire at Living Springs in Governors Bay just after 2pm, Fire Service spokeswoman Rachel Butler said.

"There was smoke showing in the area of Living Springs."

Governors Bay and Lyttleton Fire Brigades responded to the fire, as well as Christchurch Rural Fire Tankers, she said.

There were two fire tankers in attendance now, but there were six appliances at one stage, she said.

"They have dampened that down but they are still in attendance due to the winds we have down here at the moment."

She said no-one was injured and there was no damage to any nearby houses.