Southland
Six helicopters have been fighting a vegetation fire on Mount Hamilton near Centre Hill, east of Te Anau, since shortly before 4pm on Sunday, with the main aim of protecting two telecommunications towers in the area.
Fire and Emergency NZ was first called to the blaze at around 4pm. A seventh aircraft directed the air attack from above. No firefighters tackled the fire on the ground because the land is hard to reach, with crews instead monitoring the response from the Centre Hill area.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said there was no immediate threat to people. "There is no risk to the public at the moment."
The fire was burning through short grass rather than scrub and was not spreading quickly, though strong winds made it harder to contain.
"The key focus is to protect the telecommunications towers nearby," the spokesperson said.
Centre Hill is a rural area west of Mossburn, on the state highway to Te Anau. Southland Fire and Emergency said in a social media post there was no risk to people or homes, and that flames were likely to be visible in northern parts of the region, particularly around Mossburn.
"Pilots have done an excellent job in challenging conditions to protect the telecommunications infrastructure on Centre Hill.
Crews were stood down for the night, with Fire and Emergency saying it would reassess the situation at first light.
An orange level wind warning was due to come into force from 6am this morning (Monday) for Southland, with the region also under a heavy rain watch from 1pm.