Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa manager Graeme Abbot said power had been restored to the town and apart from a lack of traffic and a procession of weary firefighters things were slowly returning to normal.
A massive bushfire had cut off the South Island town of Hanmer Springs.
Thirty residents were evacuated to the town's sports pavillion.
However, those evacuated at the height of the blaze were still not able to return to their homes. A few families were still seeking refuge in the sports pavilion which had doubled as a welfare centre.
Mr Abbot said it was touch and go whether the bridge, which serves as the main link in and out of the town, was going to make it through the fierce wildfire.
"It was pretty close would be the best description. They were definitely defending the bridge."
He said firefighters worked through the night concentrating all efforts on preserving the historic wooden bridge.
While the thermal pools would be reopened at 1pm and businesses and schools were operating, the road was not going to be reopened anytime soon.
"The issue is, where the fire was, there's a cliff above the road so we've got trees smouldering and burning in the roots and they're worried about potential slippage," he said.
Earlier Christchurch Police District Command Centre spokesperson Kath Pomfrett said all roads in and out of the town had been closed due to the fire which broke out at 1.20am.
"You can't go in and out of the town," she said while firefighters fought the blaze. "The town is cut off."
None of the township's residents was in anger.
"They have been moved to the sports pavillion," she said.
The town's power supply had also been cut.
She said the fire started in the scrub along a nearby river.
Fire Service Canterbury District Commander Dave Berry said the fire spanned 50 hectares of steep land and burning out of control.
"We're awaiting dawn to attack with helicopters and there are five helicopters that have been ordered," he said.
Both the terrain and windy, gusty conditions were making it difficult to fight the blaze.
A couple of homes were also under threat.
"It's quite steep terrain with wind gusts coming through and we've got a couple of houses we're protecting," he said.
There were 17 fire crews fighting the blaze including rural tankers and urban fires and a command unit from Christchurch.
He said the initial call came in at 11.40pm when the scrub was seen on fire along the nearby Waiau River.
The Hurunui District Council has posted on its Facebook page that civil defence has activated an emergency welfare centre at the Rugby Pavilion
A number of poles had been destroyed and a decision was made last night to turn power off to the area due to the fire.
The Council Facebook page described the difficulties the firefighters faced this morning.
"We've got a large fire in steep terrain in the dark with winds of 60-70kph.
"We have a team defending the Ferry Bridge," read the post.
The district council said there were no reports of property loss at this stage.
Protecting life and property had been the priority overnight.
Mr Abbot - spokesman for the civil defence effort in Hanmer - told the New Zealand Herald this morning 70 firefighters, and 17 vehicles, were fighting the 50ha blaze.
The alarm went off at 11.40pm last night, he said, and firefighters have been battling the fire since.
"They haven't been able to control it. What they have been able to do is to secure or make safe two houses that were in the immediate vicinity and also the Ferry Bridge - which is the connecting bridge from the main road into Hanmer Springs. Those are all safe."
Mr Abbot said four or five helicopters are about to take off to evaluate the situation.
The fire was in a very hard to get area.
