Three helicopters and fresh crews have been called in to fight a large beach fire covering 200 hectares.
Fire crews were called to Pegasus Beach last night at 7.50PM.
Smoke from the Pegasus fire can be seen in many part of Christchurch. Photo: Annabel Black
All residents from the Woodend Beach Holiday Park were evacuated late last night as a precaution.
A Civil Defence has set up emergency accommodation at the Woodend Community Centre.
Incident Controller Colin Russell, with Senior Firefighter Mike Yeates from Christchurch Station, who was helping run the Command Unit at Woodend overnight.
Fire and Emergency held a meeting for evacuees and other community members earlier in the night to provide an update on the situation.
There have been no compulsory evacuations of other households in the Woodend area but some people have chosen to leave for the night, or have moved livestock.
Heavy machinery had been used to create a firebreak on Pipeline Road.
This morning, Incident Controller Colin Russell said winds had dropped on the fire ground 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.
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.”
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.
