Fire crews in the South Island have been kept busy overnight fighting more than 25 fires from Otago through to Canterbury.
High winds and dry land have provided difficult conditions for crews to put our multiple fires, with some still burning.
Gales reached up to 130 kilometres per hour in some places and strong wind warnings remain in place for most of the South Island.
A large number of fire bans remain in force across the South Island.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson told 1 NEWS they have resources in the Burkes Pass area, but they are still unable to access or locate a fire as it’s thought to be on higher ground.
The lack of rain is causing a real problem in the region. (Source: Other)
The fire is thought to be off Fairlie Tekapo Road, on the eastern side, between the Opini River and Rona Stream.
There is a couple of properties at risk so crews' first priority is making sure they are safe.
The area where the fire is thought to be is in dead grass and sprayed out broom - far from ideal fire conditions.
Meanwhile, there was a large number of call outs overnight due to wild weather in Otago and South Canterbury.
Powerlines and trees down were some of the main callouts due to severe winds, with a few small vegetation fires.
MetService said there was severe gales, gusting over 200km/h in higher altitude stations overnight.
Gore had gusts up to 130km/h, Invercargill up to 120km/h, Mt Cook Village up to 115km/h, and Fairlie up to 110km/h.
MetService said winds were expected to gradually ease off over the course of today.
But strong wind warnings remain in place for Canterbury High Country, Southern Lakes, Otago, Southland, Fiordland, Stewart Island and Clutha.
A strong wind watch remains in place for the Canterbury Plains and Christchurch.
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