Spot fires threatening homes in Canterbury

An aerial photo taken about 4.30pm Sunday as fires flared up along a Canterbury rail line. Photo: Supplied

Firefighters have contained multiple scrub fires that threatened homes in Canterbury, and are continuing to work on the hot spots.

A number of spot fires broke out along a railway line between Aylesbury and Darfield, west of Christchurch and were first reported about 4.30pm Sunday.

By 7:30pm Fire and Emergency (FENZ) confirmed that houses in the area, and especially near Kirwee, were "no longer ... under immediate threat from fire", and no homes had been damaged.

People were initially asked to keep away from the area, with police working on setting up road closures, but State Highway 73 would be reopened soon, FENZ said.

One of the blazes was believed to have started by sparks from a train travelling toward Darfield, and the fire crews had been working on multiple blazes at once.

"A freight train shunting wagons from a milk factory in West Rolleston was held back near Darfield earlier today after it created a number of grass fires along the track," a KiwiRail spokesperson said.

"The train was stopped while the incident was being investigated. No one was hurt."

The track is closed overnight between Rolleston and Darfield.

KiwiRail said affected services overnight include the TranzAlpine travelling from Greymouth to Christchurch with 172 passengers on board. Overnight freight services are also affected.

Bus replacements are in place for the TranzAlpine passengers.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience, but safety has to be our top priority," the spokesperson said.

An RNZ reporter at the scene said the police have lifted a cordon which was set up at the intersection of West Coast Road and Courtenay Road.

Three helicopters were still at work on the hotspots, along with 17 ground crews, using pumps, tankers, smoke chasers and a Command Unit. Crews had come from from Kirwee, Darfield, West Melton, Hororata, Dunsandel, Springfield, Wigram, Canterbury High Country and the Christchurch Command unit.

Firefighters fighting a series of fires along the railway line near Kirwee, west of Christchurch. Photo: RNZ/ Adam Burns

Photo: RNZ/ Adam Burns

Photo: RNZ/ Adam Burns