Three helicopters and fresh crews called in to fight massive blaze on Canterbury’s Pegasus Beach

A massive fire at Pegasus Beach north of Christchurch continued to burn overnight and is covering an estimated 200ha, Fire and Emergency says.

Three helicopters and fresh crews will be mustering at first light and will be working to a plan to contain the fire and bring it under control.

About 50 firefighters and 12 fire trucks are on the scene in an attempt to control the blaze, and more than 100 people have been evacuated from their homes.

Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) Incident Controller Colin Russell said winds had dropped on the fireground in the last couple of hours, and crews had worked hard on the western flank of the fire to contain it overnight. Firefighters have also been carrying out structure protection at the camping ground and tackling spot fires.

The smell of smoke has blanketed Christchurch as the fire near Woodend Beach burns out of control. Photo / George Heard

Heavy machinery had been used to create a firebreak on Pipeline Road, which runs off Ferry Road and the Pines Beach end.

“To the best of our knowledge we have not lost any homes or property but it’s hard to get a complete picture during the night. We will be making an aerial reconnaissance at first light and we will get a better idea of the extent of the fire then,” Russell said.

A second community meeting will be held for evacuees and residents in the vicinity of the fire at 10am in the Woodend Community Centre, which has also been set up as a welfare hub by Civil Defence.

Earlier the Waimakariri Civil Defence and police assisted FENZ to evacuate about 130 people to the Woodend Community Centre.

Racehorses were also being evacuated from Woodend Beach.

New Zealand Response Teams team leader Jonathan Williams said there were about 40 people at the evacuation centre in Woodend.

Most of the people were from the holiday camp, but many people were also self-evacuating he said.

Firefighters have been on the scene since 7.30pm on Wednesday night.