A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said they were alerted to the blaze in Arrow Junction at about 1.20pm.
There were few structures in the area, and firefighters were working to protect the few that were in the vicinity, the spokesman said.
‘‘Police are assisting us with road closures — and there is no damage to any structures at this stage.’’
Three crews from Arrowtown, one from Queenstown, one from Frankton, two from Kingston and two helicopters were at the scene.
An Otago Daily Times reporter at the scene said it appeared firefighters had the blaze under control.
He said he could see about 2ha of blackened farmland on the banks of the Arrow River near the Edgar Suspension Bridge.
About 3pm there were two helicopters working in relay with monsoon buckets.
There were several trucks on the western side of the river.
Smoke had dissipated and fire crews were "clearly in the dampening down" stage of the operation, he said.
The fire comes as hot and windy weather has raised the fire risk in the Queenstown Lakes District to extreme, prompting Fire and Emergency New Zealand to suspend all fire permits in its Lakes zone for the next three days.
District Commander Craig Gold said in a statement any outdoor fire would cause an unacceptable risk to the community, firefighters and the environment.
‘‘We have reached a critical point in the fire season, and safety is our top priority.
‘‘With risk levels now exceeding safe operating limits for land management or recreational fires, we are suspending all active permits to protect our communities and our environment.’’
The Lakes zone is already in a restricted fire season, so the suspension of existing fire permits means that no outdoor fires of any sort can be lit from 8am today until 9pm on Sunday.
People carrying out activities that can generate sparks, such as grinding or welding, should take extra care to do this well away from vegetation.
Mowing, harvesting and similar activities should be done in the early morning or evening.
