The large fire overnight in the forests at Pegasus and Woodend Beaches, north of Christchurch, continued to burn this morning despite the efforts of firefighters, helicopters and heavy machinery.
The extensive forest fire is still burning, and is covering about 200 hectares.
FENZ Incident Controller Colin Russell said winds had dropped in the last couple of hours, and crews had worked hard on the western flank of the fire to contain it overnight.
Firefighters have also been carrying out structure protection at the camping ground and tackling spot fires.
Heavy machinery was used to create a fire break on Pipeline Road, which runs off Ferry Road and the Pines Beach end.
``To the best of our knowledge we have not lost any homes or property but it’s hard to get a complete picture during the night.
``We will be making an aerial reconnaissance at first light and we will get a better idea of the extent of the fire then.''
Four helicopters and fresh crews mustered at first light, and were working to a plan to contain the fire and bring it under control.
A second community meeting will be held for evacuees and residents in the vicinity of the fire at 10am today in the Woodend Community Centre, which has also been set up as a welfare hub by Civil Defence.
Russell had spoken to media at 7.30am on Thursday, along with Waimakariri District Mayor, Dan Gordon from the Woodend Fire Station.
He says the main focus has been evacuation, with all ``successfully evacuated, all safely'' and no reports of property damage.
The fire was first reported around 7.30pm on Wednesday evening, and 50 fire fighters and 12 fire trucks were soon on the scene in an attempt to control the blaze.
Strong northwesterly winds contributed to the speed of the fire as it headed south.
Last night, the Waimakariri Civil Defence and police assisted FENZ to evacuate about 130 people to the Woodend Community Centre.
Racehorses were also evacuated from the Woodend Beach area.
New Zealand Response Teams team leader Jonathan Williams said there were about 40 people at the evacuation centre in Woodend.
Most of the people were from the holiday camp, but many people were also self-evacuating he said.
The winds were milder this morning but are expected to pick up throughout the day as fire teams continue to battle the blaze assisted by the helicopters.
