Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Strong winds at a massive fire in the Canterbury high country have not caused any breakouts today, Fire and Emergency says.
The Bridge Hill blaze, which started on Thursday morning, has burnt through nearly a thousand hectares of land, northwest of Springfield.
The incident controller of the fire, Colin Russell, said the fire had not grown in size in the last two days, and was contained within its boundary.
"It's been a good team effort from everyone involved today and we've quickly got on top of any flare-ups we have seen," he said.
Russell said the wind had created dust storms across the fire ground due to the lack of vegetation, which had reduced visibility for motorists on State Highway 73.
"We'd urge everyone to take extra care when driving on the road, as they have been doing since the road was reopened with traffic restrictions," he said.
The worst winds, with gusts of up to 150km/h, were forecast for overnight.
Russell said Fire and Emergency would have a drone team and ground crews on site to monitor the perimeter of the fire for hotspots.
"If we make it through tonight with no significant breakouts then we are hoping to reduce the number of resources on the fire ground tomorrow," he said.
About 100 people worked on the fire ground today.