A firefighter on the ground battling the fire in Christchurch's Port Hills has described the last few days as being "physically and mentally draining".
Speaking to 1News, Ewen Peat said he'd been fighting the fire since it broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
Media were given a first-hand look at the battle to contain the Port Hills fire on Friday. (Source: 1News)
Firefighters have been working 12-hour shifts, which he described as being "physically and mentally draining". But overall he said he was feeling "pretty good".
He said fighting a fire like this is all about making sure everyone's needs are being taken care of.
Crews have had deliveries of food brought to them since they first arrived on site.
Peat also said that he and his colleagues are physically fit enough to keep going as long as they need to.
"Our teams have been working since day one, so we're feeling pretty good.
"We've got some more people down the bottom. Once we've got this top sorted, we'll be looking pretty good to start closing it in," he said.
Another firefighter 1News spoke to was working during the previous blaze in 2017.
Compared with 2017, he said the conditions are so much drier, "which makes our job so much harder".
He said the work is "hard graft", but "that's what we're here for".
"That's what we signed up to do, we love this."
He said it's all about making sure "everyone is happy, and everyone gets to go home at the end of the day".
Officials said this morning the fire is 70% contained and covers around 650 hectares. A total of 95 firefighters are currently fighting the fire, helped by a number of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
SHARE ME