A helicopter fighting the massive Marlborough fire has crashed.
Police said the 47-year-old local pilot involved in the crash made a lucky escape after his machine crashed.
He was refilling a monsoon bucket from the Wairau River about 11am when the chopper went down, landing in shallow water.
The pilot was uninjured in the crash, a police spokeswoman said.
The scene of the crash on the north bank of the Wairau River near Onamalutu Road was about 300 metres from the edge of the fire.
The public was asked to stay well away from the area as winds were fanning the fire, she said.
Richard 'Mac' McNamara, Marlborough-Kaikoura Rural Fire Authority general manager, said he was dealing with a major issue and unable to immediately comment.
Tankers, helicopters and water bomber planes joined the huge fire-fighting effort today where the blaze raged across more than 100 hectares near Onamalutu, outside Renwick.
The fire, which broke out last night, was also threatening homes and it was expected to take days or possibly weeks to completely extinguish the blaze.
Dry, hot weather lately had created tinderbox conditions in many parts of the South Island.
Yesterday, a house was destroyed and hundreds of residents forced out of their homes when a scrub fire struck the western Christchurch suburb of Hei Hei.
And in central Canterbury, a scrub fire broke out and a dozen fire engines from Cust, Rangiora, Swannanoa and Oxford attended that blaze and another smaller scrub fire nearby.
Dave Stackhouse, acting regional fire commander, told NewstalkZB it was important for people to keep an eye on lawns and engage in "good housekeeping measures" especially in the rural-urban fringe.
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