A Canterbury bach was evacuated in the early hours of this morning as an large scrub fire threatened to get out of control.
Fire Service spokesman Andrew Norris said crews received calls about the vegetation fire burning at Lake Coleridge, west of Christchurch, about 4.15am.
The 40-hectare blaze is still burning in the remote area at the foothills of the Southern Alps.
Four helicopters were expected to battle the flames this morning as well as teams from rural fire stations who arrived on site at first light, Mr Norris said.
"That fire has burned uncontained simply because there's no access to it.
"In the early hours of this morning we basically maintained a watch and kept an eye on it from a distance...There's baches scattered around the area. A couple of them were threatened but not damaged.
"We did evacuate people from one bach just as a safety precaution."
He said it was not being treated as suspicious.
There was a couple of large farm homesteads as well as conservation land in the area, Mr Norris said.
"There's a whole lot of people going up in four wheel drives and things like that [at the moment]."
