Property owners who had cleared away vegetation fared better in the large Mackenzie Country fire than those who had not, the region's mayor says.
The fire near Lake Pukaki near the foot of Aoraki/Mt Cook, which started on Sunday morning, has burnt through about 3500 hectares of mostly wilding pines, and through the night it continued to create a red glow seen for many kilometres.
The blaze was contained after snow and heavy rain hit the area last night, bringing more moisture to dampen the flammable materials in the fire's path, and helping those on the front line.
Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare has toured the affected area today, meeting fire crews and seeing for himself that the bad weather has helped their efforts.
Henare, Mackenzie District mayor Graham Smith and Fire and Emergency's addressed media at lunchtime.
No decision has been made from the government yet around supporting the Mackenzie District with funding, Henare said.
The minister said local agencies, including the Mackenzie District Council, were working to get people back to their properties.
Snow grounds helicopter crews fighting Lake Pukaki fire. Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
Smith said the fire was the latest setback for the region coming on top of the impact of Covid-19 which has hit hard in an area that generates much of its revenue from foreign tourists.
"We do have a lot anxiety out there amongst the people in this community."
However, the community had rallied round those most affected supplying food, accommodation and other support, he said.
"We'll get powerlines up, we'll get people back in [homes] as soon as possible but be patient and work with our Fire Service who've been absolutely tremendous."
The town of Twizel had been threatened by fire three years ago, Smith said, and this had frightened people. The government had recognised the problem of wilding pines and $70 million would be spent in the region over the next four years, but the funding had not come quick enough to manage the spread of wilding pines "that could ignite at a moment's notice".
"Those properties that made a real intention to keep the vegetation well away from their frontages actually helped themselves," Smith said.
Around Twizel there would need to be a more pro-active approach to keep trees away from the town, he said.
"We just have to be so vigilant around fire and these dry tinder conditions."
Map showing spread of the fire over approx. 3,100 hectares. Photo: RNZ/Google Earth
Henare said he had met the owner of the only property that had been destroyed in the latest blaze and it was "heart-breaking" for them. During his tour he had also taken on board the challenges that lay ahead.
He would be conveying to the prime minister and Cabinet the need for urgency on the wilding pines issue, he said.
"It's clear that this fire is another one of those reasons why we need to move as soon as we can to make sure there's an effective plan so that these fires don't happen in the future."
About 18 helicopters and 180 personnel have been battling the fire in the first two days. South Canterbury principal rural fire officer Rob Hands said 15 people using heavy machinery equipment were working at the fire scene today.
All the fire crews had returned to base. Helicopters would not go up today because of the bad weather but would be used for thermal imaging over the next few days to detect any hot spots.
Active firefighting would probably resume on Thursday, Hands said.
Part of the affected area late last night. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
He wanted to reassure the public that there was no danger of major flare-ups.
"Be assured this site is currently managed."
Henare added that his message to the rest of Aotearoa is that the "stunning region" is still open for business. It was his first visit but tourists would be welcome in the immediate future.
Yesterday, other were fires burning around the South Island including one in scrub and pine on the outskirts of Oamaru, and a fire which started in the disused paper mill in Mataura which has housed potentially toxic waste.