Firefighters and helicopters are battling two major scrub fires in Rangiora this morning, with Canterbury set for another scorcher today.
One of the fires started on the Ashley riverbank on Sunday afternoon, near Dunlops Rd in Loburn.
The fire service was called at 3.23pm. By 6.20pm there were nine fire trucks and two helicopters battling the blaze, which was covering 1ha of scrub and being fanned by strong warm winds.
Residents living in the path of the smoke were being told to keep their windows and doors shut.
At 10pm the fire was not under control but no structures or properties were at risk. Crews stayed overnight but full firefighting commenced again this morning, Fire and Emergency NZ said.
Fire and Emergency NZ confirmed this morning it was now battling two scrub fires in the area but was too busy to give the Herald details.
Rangiora man Paul Bradshaw said he went outside at around 6.30am, the air was "reasonably thick with smoke", and ash was floating through the air.
He had called 111, to be told the fire was on the north side of the Ashley River.
Sharon Miller, from west Rangiora, said there was a haze over the town this morning and a strong smell of smoke. She feared the fire would get worse as the grass in the area was extremely dry and there were high winds, while by 7.20am the temperature had reached 26C.
MetService has forecast Rangiora to reach a high of 31C today, with similar windy conditions that saw vegetation fires across Canterbury on Saturday.
Rain is expected to set in on Tuesday evening.
