The scene of the fire on Racecourse Road soon after FENZ said it had been contained. Photo: RNZ / Anna Sargent
Hot, dry and windy weather is expected to hamper firefighters at the scene of the Canterbury blazes.
MetService duty forecast Heath Gullery said the region was in for another scorcher on Saturday.
"Unfortunately the fire weather is pretty bad today, it's looking like a continuation of hot and dry weather, similar to what we saw yesterday. So northwest winds and daytime maximums around 30 to 32 degrees," he said.
"By tonight we'll start to see those hot and dry northwest winds easing, but certainly during the morning or the afternoon hot and dry conditions."
Banks Peninsula is forecast to have a high of 33C, and Christchurch is expected to reach 32C.
Fire and Emergency is asking people not to partake in any activities with a spark hazard - such as welding or grinding to reduce the risk of a fire breaking out.
Firefighters remain on the scene of two major blazes in the Canterbury region.
On Friday, vegetation fires broke out in both Loburn and Amberley, but were contained in the evening.
But Fire and Emergency is warning that the fire risk in the region remains high with stronger winds forecast on Saturday.
Firefighters have been on the ground at the scene of both blazes overnight and were being relieved by crews on Saturday morning.
Both fires forced residents to be evacuated.
In Loburn, four separate fires were contained to a 10-hectare cordon, but FENZ said the blaze destroyed several buildings, including a church and two houses.
The fire just outside Amberley had been contained to an area of about one kilometre. Evacuated residents have been able to return home.
The roads around the Loburn fires remain closed while around 30 fresh firefighters and other staff work to fully extinguish them, FENZ said.
A meeting is being held at the council chambers in Rangiora for Loburn fire evacuees and other affected residents at 11am.
Parts of the South Island were already in a prohibited fire season - but all fire permits have been suspended for the rest of Canterbury until Monday because of the ongoing risk.
District manager Rob Hands said they were asking people in the region to not partake in any activities with a spark hazard - such as welding or grinding.
"We just ask that people are, if they have been using fire as a main tool to clean up their section etcetera, that they should go and check their fires, that they are out and extinguish them with water and then restrict the activities that they are doing."
