The fires in Kaikōura that destroyed five homes yesterday are still burning, and crews are racing to get them contained and put out before winds pick up again.
Multiple fires fanned by fierce winds destroyed 14 buildings, including five houses, and firefighters were able to save another five homes.
About 20 people were evacuated.
As the battle against the fires goes on, there is some good news for travellers – State Highway 1, which was closed overnight between Ward and Kaikōura, has reopened.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) this morning said 11 crews supported by two helicopters were working on “multiple fire sites”.
“A full assessment of the impacted area will be made today, to confirm the extent of the areas that have been affected,” a Fenz spokesman said. “A fire investigation team has begun work to establish the origin and cause of the fires.”
“Fire and Emergency will be meeting the affected homeowners this morning and arranging managed access to their properties where necessary. The area remains closed to the public while firefighting efforts continue.”
RNZ reporter Keiller McDuff, who is in Kaikōura, earlier said it was not yet known how the fires started.
However, once they started the high winds created “a bit of a disaster” in terms of spreading dozens of fires.
“The fire ground is incredibly dispersed.”
It was difficult to know how big the fire ground is. Some people had gone up in helicopters in very testing conditions to try and survey the scene.
It covered a wide swathe of the northern part of town and jumped State Highway 1.
In a social media post, the Kaikōura Volunteer Fire Brigade said it sent its thoughts to those who lost their homes yesterday.
“We tried as hard as we could but just couldn’t save them all.”
There were also fires in the southern part of Marlborough and some fire crews on their way to Kaikōura had to turn back to deal with those.
Winds also allowed the fires there to spread.
Assistant National Commander Ken Cooper said the wind was expected to drop today and then pick up again tonight, and he wanted the fires out before then.
He says they are now looking at what is going to be needed when gale-force winds with high temperatures hit the east coast of both main islands from early tomorrow.
At the height of the response, about 50 appliances attended with about 120 personnel working to extinguish the flames.
About 30 appliances stayed overnight, the crews mainly protecting other structures.
MetService says it’s possible some of the warnings for damaging gales and heavy rain for central and southern parts of the country may be upgraded to red.
This animation shows forecast wind gusts on Wednesday and Thursday.
While Wednesday will be gusty, it won’t be as bad as what we saw on Tuesday.
HOWEVER
Strong low pressure will likely bring damaging winds >120 km/h (🔴) to the South Island and lower North Island on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/XyxkCiRP9n
— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 21, 2025
Severe weather alerts are in place for almost all of the South Island, and MetService earlier this week said Thursday would be a “big day” of weather.
State Highway 1 near Kaikōura was closed overnight because of the fires, but reopened about 8.25am. However, other highways remain closed.
Fallen trees are blocking Inland Route 70 which is closed from Peketā south of Kaikōura to Waiau.
Flooding has also shut the Lewis Pass (SH7).
MainPower’s outage map shows power is out for hundreds of homes spread across several areas.
It says teams are working to restore electricity as safely and as fast as possible.
It’s also warning of what it says is a significant weather event due to strike tomorrow.
Canterbury’s Civil Defence Emergency Management says the forecast is for stronger wind and higher temperatures across a broader area.
It’s urging people to use today to prepare, and consider how the wind may affect them and their property.
Meanwhile, some highways are closed in the North Island after strong winds and heavy rain caused major disruptions, and power remains out to thousands of people in Wairarapa.
Four vegetation fires continue to burn in Pōrongahau in Hawke’s Bay.
Firefighters have been monitoring the fires overnight – and operations were expected to resume at first-light.
Around 50 to 60 firefighters are expected back today.