Multiple crews from throughout the district, including Dunedin and Queenstown, and three helicopters, were called to a fire burning on a steep hillside above Lake Dunstan.
The fire in Fruitgrowers Rd, a short distance from Clyde Dam, had reignited about 4.20pm on Saturday from an earlier fire started by fireworks on Friday night.
Fire and Emergency NZ incident controller Bobby Lamont said firefighters from local volunteer brigades and the helicopter pilots had done a tremendous job in challenging circumstances to limit the fire to 3ha.
"The winds in the area have been horrific — thankfully the face where the fire is burning is slightly sheltered, and we slammed extra resources on to it to make sure it didn’t impact the transmission lines from the dam," he said.
Volunteer firefighters from Clyde, Alexandra, Tarras, Dunstan and Luggate, as well as career fighters and staff from Dunedin and Queenstown attended.
Smoke had blown over both Clyde and Alexandra but had dispersed.
A crew remained at the scene overnight and some rain helped to dampen hotspots down.
Though the fire was out, a Fenz spokesman said yesterday the site would be monitored throughout the day.
Mr Lamont urged people to think twice about letting off fireworks in windy conditions, and to be aware that it only took one spark to cause a wildfire.
It was also a reminder for people who have lit outdoor fires in the past few days to check they are fully extinguished. MetService advised there were no strong wind warnings for the lower South Island on Sunday.
Elsewhere, crews were called to fires at Templeton in the Selwyn District and at Glenham in Southland on Saturday.
At Glenham, crews worked on hotspots in a 3ha forestry block.
One crew and a tanker stayed overnight but the fire was out by yesterday morning and the property was handed back over to the owner.
At Templeton, the fire in a shelter belt was brought under control early on Saturday evening and a crew remained at the scene overnight.
