House destroyed in Hurunui fire

Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller / file image
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller / file image
Two fires in North Canterbury have been extinguished and a precautionary evacuation notice was lifted last night.

A house was destroyed in the blaze and several crews remained onsite overnight to clean up.

The house fire was reported to emergency services on Cloudy Range Tce in Mt Lyford Village, Hurunui, at 11.13am on Wednesday.

It sparked another fire in the surrounding bushland.

Everyone in the house was accounted for and no one was injured, a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said.

About 16 crews from Waiau, Hurunui, Lyford and Culverden worked to put the fires out, Fenz said.

"An evacuation notice that went out to nearby residents as a precaution has now been lifted," the spokesperson said.

They said the vegetation fire had been contained and weather conditions were fine, with a slight northeast wind.

Hato Hone St John said one ambulance was called to the scene.

St John "received a call at 11.33am about an incident on Cloudy Range Terrace, Lyford", a spokesperson said.

Canterbury continues to experience hot and dry conditions.

Over the long weekend, firefighters battled more than a dozen fires in the Canterbury region, which were fanned by strong winds and damaged conservation land.

Fenz believed there were various causes behind those fires, including powerlines and old fires reigniting.

At the time, Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said there remained a high fire risk in North Canterbury due to "tinder-dry conditions".