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Firefighters left the scene of the fire that swept 20 acres in Port Hills above Christchurch on Friday night.
New Zealand Metropolitan Fire and Emergencies (Fenz) Commander Dave Stackhouse said about 20 firefighters were working to buffer hot spots Sunday morning.
They were working in identified areas using an infrared camera mounted on a drone, he said.
Fenz staff worked at the burned site until 1:20 p.m. Sunday.
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Fenz spokesman Mau Barbara said a team periodically patrolled the area until Monday night to make sure nothing was ignited.
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A barn owned by Kester Vos was the only structure destroyed in the fire.
Stackhouse said Fenz was still investigating the cause of the fire and could not confirm what happened until next week.
The fire may have started in a concrete water reservoir in Port Hills, he said.
About a dozen residents were evacuated from Port Hills Rd Friday night and about 20 were evacuated from the Avoca Valley area. Residents were allowed to return home Saturday afternoon after the fire was contained.
The only structure destroyed in the fire was a barn owned by Kester Vos, Stackhouse said.
Vos said the fire broke out about 50 meters from his home in his 8.5ha lifestyle block.
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Firefighters were looking for hidden hot spots, which can burn in the roots of trees.
He said the barn, which contained construction materials and equipment, was completely destroyed. It was uninsured and the material was worth about $ 30,000.
He said the area around his home was still burning in a pine plantation Sunday.
“That is to be expected. The fire service did an amazing job. I can’t thank you enough. “
The fire started around 11:30 pm on Friday.
Two helicopters with rain buckets and dozens of firefighters battled the blaze overnight Friday, with some flames visible at 7 a.m. Saturday.
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Firefighters keep an eye out for hot spots.
Vos said neighbors told her the fire was started by people setting fireworks near the concrete water reservoir above their home.
“At first they told me that some young people were doing fireworks. They were quite loud explosions and I could hear them from my house. Many locals heard the fireworks.
“It was after the fire started.”
Stackhouse said authorities were looking at all possible causes and had not ruled out fireworks.
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Kester Vos owns the scorched earth.
“We are working with the police on that. We will have more information next week ”.
Metro commander, Superintendent Lane Todd, declined to comment on a possible cause.
“We are still working with fire investigations on that,” he said.
A police spokesman said no charges had been filed in connection with the fire.
“The police have spoken with several people who were in the area when the fire started and investigations are continuing.”
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Fenz wildfire manager Brian Keown says embers carried by the burning trees were in danger of spreading the fire.
Fenz Wildland Fire Manager Brian Keown helped fight the fire on Friday night and Saturday morning. He said the flames reached 30 meters when some trees lit up.
“The teams did a great job in the dark.
“It was very hot there.”
Keown said people needed to be vigilant as the vegetation began to dry out.
NIWA’s latest seasonal outlook predicted that the Canterbury coastline and eastern Otago would have above-average temperatures this summer and below normal rainfall.
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The vegetation of Port Hills is scorched by fire.
The forecast predicted a 70 percent chance of warmer weather and a 35 percent chance of below-normal rainfall.
Some parts of the country could reach temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, when there is a big rise.
On Tuesday, parts of the interior of the South Island could have daytime highs 8 ° C above average, according to WeatherWatch.
Downtown Otago, inland Canterbury, and parts of Waikato were expected to have highs of 30 ° C, although the city of Christchurch was expected to hover around 20 ° C.
