Environment Canterbury has launched an investigation into a controlled burn at Bottle Lake Forest that caused widespread disruption in Christchurch on Monday.

The fire sent thick smoke into surrounding areas, triggering fire alarms at QEII, forcing students at nearby schools to stay indoors, and filling a local supermarket with smoke.

In a response to Chris Lynch Media, Environment Canterbury Team Leader Compliance – Urban Lauren Hamilton said, “We are still investigating yesterday’s incident so can’t comment further.

“We are aware that many people were adversely affected by the smoke, and this will be considered as part of the investigation.”

Several complaints were made to the regional council, and Environment Canterbury confirmed it had incident response staff checking the fire.

Health New Zealand also released health advice on its Facebook page in response to public concern, but didn’t  send out an offical response in relation to the smoke.

Environment Canterbury has not yet confirmed whether any guidelines were breached during the burn.