Strong winds continue but firefighters are confident they'll have 50 per cent control of a raging fire at Lake Ōhau by tomorrow night.
The perimeter of the fire tonight stretches more than 40 kilometres, with the blaze also raising concerns about the management of conservation land.
It was all hands on deck. Monsoon buckets attacked from above while bulldozers, tractors and hoses battled the blaze on the ground.
Hours later, greener pastures contrast with the charred land, showing where the front line was won.
Quick-thinking farmers sprung into action to create three kilometres of a fire break at Shelton Downs, using a bulldozer to top the flames getting from one paddock to the adjacent paddock, trying to slow the blaze in its tracks.
Grant Murray says around two-thirds of his 2500 hectares near Ōhau is blackened.
"I didn't really get scared until we were trying to get our sheep out of some of these blocks and that's when i started to think, 'What are we doing? This is a bit scary.'"
Most of his 1800 ewes were saved, but around 200 are thought to have died in the fire.
The settlement, which is about 30 minutes west of Twizel in the McKenzie Country, was razed by the fire that swept through over the weekend. (Source: Other)
Fire and Emergency NZ's Graeme Still says it's been a hard-fought battle for control.
"We're having a bit of trouble getting into the mountainous country there," he says.
"We're quietly confident we've got it contained. Never say never, though."
The disaster has also inflamed ongoing debate around the management of Department of Conservation land.
"On the farm where it's been regularly grazed, it's not very long, it's just whistled along and not done very much damage, it's just burnt the seen head off," Murray said.
"Where there's longer thicker grass... it's burnt hotter and harder."
Some farmers want passive grazing - a sheep for every couple of hectares, to subdue the undergrowth.
But Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage dismissed their concerns.
"On conservation land, wildings have been substantially reduced," she said.
"Federated Farmers, I think, was making a push for free grazing.
"Nature doesn't start fires except by occasional lightning strikes. It's managing human activities that's the key."
Murray says it's a "perfect storm".
"I think this highlights that this is going to become an issue because it is a fuel source and as far as I can work out," he said.
"You only need a spark in these dry conditions. We've had 75mm of rain in the last two weeks and this can still happen."
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