Light rain has done little to dampen a large fire on the outskirts of Wanaka which firefighters say will take days to put out.
The scrub fire over Wanaka consumed about 200 hectares before it was contained yesterday. Photo: FENZ
Firefighters yesterday managed to contain the blaze, which broke out on the slopes of Mount Roy on Wednesday afternoon consuming about 200ha of grass and scrub.
Incident Controller Mark Mawhinney said a drone with thermal imaging equipment was deployed this morning to locate hotspots, which would be attacked by three helicopters and three ground crews.
He said cooler temperatures today could help crews.
Six helicopters were helping yesterday before it got too dark to continue.
Photo: FENZ
Department of Conservation senior community ranger Annette Grieve said helicopters would once again be dispatched this morning to help out.
"We're expecting three helicopters to be on site from 7am along with ground crews.
"And then that'll just be assessed during the morning whether there's more helicopters to be brought on."
Ms Grieve said firefighting crews were expected to remain in the area for the next couple of days.
