Firefighters worked through the night to manage flare-ups at the West Melton fire, successfully preventing any breaches of containment lines.

Crews also remained on-site at the Courtney Road fire near Kirwee, which is being managed alongside the West Melton blaze. Incident Commander Dave Key said the flare-ups occurred when winds reignited partially burned vegetation and trees.

“This was expected and planned for, and our crews did excellent work ensuring the flare-ups did not breach the containment lines,” said Key.

Today, 75 personnel are focused on the two fires, which are located about 3km apart and supported by the same Incident Management Team. Two helicopters and three heavy machinery operators are assisting crews in extinguishing hotspots. Most of the firefighters are from Canterbury, with additional support from two South Canterbury crews.

At Bridge Hill, efforts continue to extinguish hotspots around the fire perimeter. Incident Commander Richard Griffiths said drone flights conducted last night identified several areas requiring attention, some of which are in steep terrain.

Three firefighting crews, supported by a digger and a water tanker, are on-site at Bridge Hill today as work continues to secure the fireground.