Large wildfire in Canterbury under control

A large wildfire on the shores of Canterbury's Lake Pukaki is controlled but not contained, Fire and Emergency New Zealand says.

The fire covered about 50 hectares and State Highway 80, the Mount Cook road, was closed while crews worked to put it out.

The road reopened about 7.30am today, the NZ Transport Agency advised.

Four properties, two of which were vacant, were evacuated as a precaution on Monday night.

A Fenz spokesperson said the two affected owners would meet with the incident controller today.

A skeleton crew had been on the ground overnight and the fire was now mostly embers burning in frozen ground.

Eight fire trucks were at the scene yesterday evening, with a team of about 40 firefighters tackling the blaze.

A Twizel resident said she could see the flames from about 10 kilometres away.

 - RNZ/ODT Online