Firefighters battle large scrub fire south of Christchurch overnight

A large area of trees and scrub on fire in rural Christchurch have kept firefighters busy overnight as they fought into the early hours. Photo / LAC Chad Sharman

A large area of trees and scrub on fire in rural Christchurch has kept firefighters busy overnight as they battled the blaze into the early hours.

Fourteen firefighters, at 6am, were still on scene at the fire near Worsleys Rd, a rural area, keeping an eye on the contained fire understood to be around 3ha.

"We don't believe it is big as first thought," a Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said.

The fire was first reported after midnight, and, at its peak Fenz transmitted a second alarm bringing in several water tankers and fire engines.

"Thanks to the quick response by members of the public calling 111 and also the fast response of our crews to get on top of this early."

One social media user claimed they could see the fire from the city's CBD more than 10km away.

Principal fire officers were expected to arrive on scene around 7.30am, then Fenz would have a clearer idea of the damage caused and the true size of the blaze, the spokesman said.