Residents were being evacuated from homes near Lake Pukaki as a fire burned near State Highway 80 on Monday afternoon.
Helicopters were being used to fight the out-of-control burn off near the intersection with State Highway 8.
Eight crews were at the scene while a command unit was sent from Timaru, Fire and Emergency NZ said, in a statement.
Several homes have been evacuated.
Police are assisting Fire and Emergency NZ with the evacuations and were alerted around 3.30pm on Monday.
"Police are assisting with Traffic Control on State Highway 80 near State Highway 8 and working to evacuate nearby residents," a spokesperson said.
A police spokesperson confirmed two houses were evacuated while the occupants of a further two had already left when officers arrived.
By early Tuesday morning, FENZ said the crews were assessing the area to ensure the fire was fully out. Four crews and a digger were onsite conducting this work.
Part of SH80 was closed on Monday but had reopened by Tuesday morning.
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