A fire was last night blazing across at least 7ha of tussock and scrub on the hilly landscape between Hyde and Macraes Flat.
Firefighters could only monitor the vegetation fire while it was dark, to ensure it did not threaten residential property.
Helicopter and fire appliance crews were on standby to tackle the flames at dawn.
Middlemarch's volunteer fire crew was called to the blaze just before 6pm, followed by rural fire crews from Macraes Flat, Dunedin and Waitati.
Dunedin City Council principal rural fire officer Graeme Still said no residential properties were in the immediate vicinity of the fire. It was too early to determine how and exactly where the fire began.
"All we can do overnight is monitor the fire and work out how we are going tackle it in the morning," Mr Still said.
