Christchurch City Council received 20 tree related service requests as strong winds brought down branches across the city on Tuesday.

A council spokeswoman said six of the requests involved fallen trees or branches, although at least one was on private property.

“There have been no major disruptions to public facilities caused by tree or branch failures.”

The council’s arboricultural contractor was sent to Yaldhurst Road to clear a footpath.

Strong winds also blew out a window at the lower Christchurch Gondola terminal.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Southern Shift Manager Lyn Crosson told chrislynchmedia.com crews were called to the terminal near the base of the Gondola.

A Christchurch Gondola spokeswoman said the complex had already closed to the public because of the wind.

She said the attraction expected to operate normally on Wednesday, provided wind levels dropped as forecast.

Three people were stranded on the roof of a Ferry Road property after scaffolding was pushed into nearby power lines.

Crosson said they were not injured but remained on the roof until Orion crews isolated the electricity supply.

“They were not hurt, but for safety reasons, when we arrived, they stayed there until the power company had isolated the lines.”

Two trampolines were blown onto power lines in separate incidents in Aranui and Burwood.

Firefighters also responded to fallen trees in Yaldhurst and Middleton. The winds had eased slightly by 2pm.

An Orion spokeswoman said field response teams attended several weather related outages.

“We were contacted by FENZ regarding the Ferry Road property. We also responded to the two incidents involving trampolines.”

She urged people to treat all fallen power lines as live.

“Please take care around any downed power lines, treat them as live and call our call centre on 0800 363 9898.”

Current outage information is available on the Orion website.

A police spokesperson said police were aware of the strong winds but had not been called to any related incidents.

MetService said gusts at Christchurch Airport reached about 70km/h, placing them near gale force.

NZ Transport Agency issued a strong wind warning for State Highway 73 between Yaldhurst and Springfield at 1.20pm.

Drivers were urged to take extra care, particularly those operating high sided vehicles and motorcycles.