'Extremely dangerous': Drone threat to firefighters

Police say a drone has been seen flying in the vicinity of the massive fire near Nelson and are urging the pilot to ground it.

"Drone activity has the potential to stop all helicopters responding to the emergency fire situation. This is extremely dangerous and our priority is to ensure the helicopters can continue with their work," police said, after reports of a drone flying in the Wakefield area.  

"Police ask that anyone operating a drone cease this urgently."

• Farmer suspected of starting fire 'mortified'

The fire is still "out of control", a top fire chief says.

One property was confirmed lost to the fire, Fire and Emergency NZ incident controller John Sutton said this morning, describing it as "terrible" news.

Sutton had seen the fire brushing past houses and paint blistered by the heat, but the houses were otherwise unscathed.

While yesterday had been a good day, making progress in containing the fire, they have a lot of work ahead of them, with a forecast for high temperatures and winds looking ominous.

They are still officially saying the fire is "out of control", he told residents at an emotional community meeting outside the fire cordon this morning.

There was work to still make a containment line around the fire, Sutton said.

"Wind is the enemy," he said.

He reassured residents he hadn't come in to "take over" but rather to offer support to the good work already happening fighting the blaze.

There are 22 helicopters available to fight the fire from the air, along with two fixed-wing aircraft which are putting in retardant lines at strategic places in case of a wind change.

Crews worked overnight in the dark to stave off the inferno.

"Today is a huge day for us," Sutton said.

"We have to make some ground."