Firefighters will keep watch over the remnants of forestry-slash fire near Dipton during the next two or three days to stop any potential flare-ups.
At its height, five helicopters with monsoon buckets and about 30 firefighters were needed to fight the large scrub fire in the Cairn Peak Forest, which is thought to have started just before 2pm yesterday.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand southern district Principal Rural Fire Officer Elton Smith said initially there were concerns the 40ha fire would spread to the nearby forestry block.
But by about 7pm the air and ground crews had contained the blaze, Mr Smith said.
Volunteer firefighters from Dipton, Lumsden, Hedgehope and Drummond battled the blaze and a command unit was at the scene.
High winds in the area helped spread the blaze and hampered the efforts of the fire crews.
"We're pretty well on top of it now but we will have crews out here for the next few days mopping up and just consolidating the containment,'' Mr Smith said.
The cause of the fire was not known at this stage, he said.
