Fire and Emergency South Island shift manager Alex Norris said multiple crews are at the scene today.

“We did have crews there overnight, but due to the nature of what was burning and where it was burning, it was too dangerous to extinguish,” he said.

Norris said helicopters and heavy machinery was also brought in to support ground crews.

Photo / Andrea Zoe

The incident is one of several suspicious fires that kept crews busy across the Selwyn District overnight.

Norris said they are still determining whether the fires are linked, but all are being treated as suspicious due to their timing and similarity.

“They’ve been all over the place — roadside fires, hedge fires. We had crews out in Rolleston and Darfield.

Photo / Andrea Zoe

“We responded to 11 in total overnight, and the one near the Waimakariri is the biggest,” he said.

“All of them are being treated as suspicious, and we’re working closely with Police.”