The country watched in horror last week as the fires raged for days, forcing mass evacuations, destroying homes and, sadly, leading to the death of pilot Steve Askin when his helicopter crashed while he battled the blaze.
Many times it appeared the fires were under control only for a wind change to cause flare-ups and send the situation back to square one.
There have been question marks about the organisation surrounding the firefighting, with minister Gerry Brownlee critical of the time it took to call a state of emergency. Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton, agreed communication with central government could have been better, but believed an earlier call would have made no difference to the firefighting.
These matters will no doubt be the subject of various reviews once the fires are out.
What we do know is hundreds of firefighters worked tirelessly around the clock to extinguish the 2075ha of fires and save homes under threat. In typical New Zealand style, volunteers came to the fore and helped with accommodation, meals and clothing for those working on, or affected by, the fires.
Christchurch is all too well used to dealing with disaster.
Tomorrow will mark six years since the Christchurch earthquake which claimed the lives of 185 people. The city's residents rallied in the wake of that tragedy and that same spirit was evident in the response to the fires.
Canterbury's dry summer, coupled with hot nor-westerly winds, means the region often is prone to fire risk.
Thick vegetation, particularly gorse, on the Port Hills quickly becomes tinder dry and the slightest hint of ignition is enough to start a potentially disastrous blaze. A total fire ban is now in place from South Canterbury through to the north end of the Hurunui District.
Earlier last week Hastings was also battling scrub fires, with homes under threat, while the previous week our attention was focused on Australia, and in particularly New South Wales, as temperatures in the 40degC range resulted in fierce scrub fires.
Summer ends next week and you can forgive Dunedin folk for feeling a little short-changed.
Snow, hail, wind and plenty of rain has been a feature of summer in the South. The odd day of 30degC-plus heat has surfaced, just to remind everyone what the lazy, hazy days of summer are actually like.
Lifeguards in Dunedin have spent much of their patrols gazing at empty beaches, residents' wood piles have dwindled as night-time temperatures plummet and warm coats, usually reserved for winter months, have had an airing during December and January.
Niwa figures showed Dunedin was poised for its second-coldest January on record but a hot January 31, when the temperature exceeded 30degC, saw that record avoided.
Balclutha recorded twice its monthly rainfall in January and the usually reliable summer hot spots of Clyde and Wanaka had their second and fourth-coldest January on record, respectively.
The sudden downpour of hail and rain on Monday last week resulted in widespread flooding throughout Dunedin which only confirmed what most already knew. It has been a summer to forget.
Locals can take some solace from the fact it is not just the South which has struggled to see the mercury rising.
Wellingtonians have also been bemoaning the lack of sunshine and questioned if summer bypassed the capital this year.
What Christchurch would do for a southern or Wellington summer at the moment.
