Fire crews are continuing to work at the scene of a big blaze in Canterbury's Lewis Pass Road, saying they have made "excellent progress".
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) was alerted to reports of the Island Hills fire on State Highway 7 near Hurunui at 2.30pm on Saturday.
The blaze spread to 40ha and three nearby properties were evacuated. The fire was contained on Sunday morning.
In a Facebook post this morning, Canterbury Fire and Emergency said an aerial survey of the area last night identified 13 hotspots and two larger areas that need attention.
"This is down significantly on the previous night’s survey."
A video posted online demonstrated some of the complex work carried out while fighting wildfires of this nature.
The Lewis Pass Road is open but traffic speed restrictions of 30km/h remain in place.
A Fenz spokesman said this allowed crews to use part of the road safely and keep trucks close to the fireground.
Motorists were advised to exercise extra caution on their journey through the Lewis Pass.
Canterbury remains extremely dry and is in a restricted fire season.
- APL
