The fires, on a property at the end of Joyce Rd, were two of five blazes since 5pm on Monday, including another in a plantation near Waimate, which firefighters had to cope with in the face of strong northwest winds on Monday and early yesterday.
Waitaki rural fire chief Chris Raine said the Hampden forest fires, which started about 3am and were being treated as one incident, were the worst of the five fires.
It was too dangerous for crews to go in before daylight, and at the peak of fire-fighting yesterday there were 12 appliances from the Waitaki, Kakanui and Hampden brigades, 16 firefighters and a helicopter at the scene.
Yesterday afternoon, crews were dampening down hot spots, some of which were deep down in pine nettles under the trees, up to 28 years old.
Last night, a skeleton crew stayed at the site to ensure the blaze did not flare up again.
Mr Raine said most of the fires which broke out were caused by permitted burn-offs, some of which had been out for some months but had embers deep underground fanned into life by the strong winds.
Other fires occurred at Airedale, Waimotu Rd near Maheno, Macraes and Duntroon.
The fire at Duntroon at 5pm yesterday was from a stump which reignited, then spread into firewood, a garden and firewood shed.
About 50km north, another fire began about 3.20am yesterday at a plantation off Mill Rd, Waimate. It was attended by two helicopters and two fire appliances.
Waimate firefighters were still there late yesterday afternoon dampening down hot spots.
In North Otago, the power lines network was affected by high winds, gusting between 50kmh and 80kmh in some inland areas on Monday, with minor and major faults reported to Network Waitaki.
The power lines company's network operations manager Kamlesch Prasad said yesterday parts of the network were affected by trees, wind-blown branches and lines clashing.
In the Ohau area, about 50 consumers lost their power supply for about an hour from 10am on Monday when a pole was blown over.
About 7.30pm on Monday, the Five Forks area was without power for between one and 1 hours and about three-quarters of Oamaru, including the central business district, was without electricity for about five minutes after a fault in a substation.
All had their electricity back promptly, except for one consumer whose supply was restored yesterday because it was too dangerous for contract staff to work in the dark.
"The men did a really good job [restoring power] in a challenging wind," Mr Prasad said.
In Central Otago, some broken tree branches and a few uprooted trees were reported.
