Firefighters in action in Kirwee on Sunday. Photo: RNZ/ Adam Burns
Firefighters are battling a large wildfire in the rural township of Kirwee in the Selwyn district.
Fire and Emergency said the six-hectare blaze on Thursday morning was in a pine plantation.
Seventeen fire trucks and two helicopters are attending.
Emergency services were called to the scene, near the south bank of the Waimakariri River, just before 6am.
Spokesperson Daryl Ball said while it was contained by around 8am, crews will monitor the blaze throughout the day.
He said while it posed no threat to buildings or homes it was still very active.
It is the second major fire incident around Kirwee in five days.
Several spot fires broke out along a railway line between Aylesbury and Darfield, west of Christchurch on Sunday.
The fires were sparked by a freight train shunting wagons from a milk factory in West Rolleston.
At one stage they threatened about 40 homes, an "incredibly stressful" experience for residents, Malvern Ward councillor Lydia Gliddon told RNZ on Monday.
The latest blaze has broken out on a day when the MetService has warned of very high temperatures in Canterbury over the next few days.
Further north, investigators are looking into the cause of a large building fire in Golden Bay during the early hours.
Emergency services were called just before 3am to a large commercial building in Takaka.
The blaze was "well-involved" when firefighters arrived in 13 trucks and one support vehicle.
The fire was contained within two hours.
