Fire crews are dampening down a huge scrub fire in Otago that started when a burn-off got out of control on private land.
Crews were called around 5:45pm on Friday to the land north of Hyde but could not get the fire under control in the dark, Dunedin City Council principal rural fire officer Graeme Still said.
At the height of the blaze yesterday, six helicopters, 40 ground crew and eight 4WD appliances were involved and managed to get it under control.
The fire had burned 1500 hectares of tussock and scrub as well as a small block of pine forest, Mr Still said.
"We've had a bit of a shower of rain, which has helped, but we'll continue to mop up and will be monitoring the fire until we get some decent rain," he said.
NZN