Seven helicopters with monsoon buckets are in operation at the Pukaki Downs fire, north of Twizel.

Firefighting operations remained limited overnight on Wednesday (September 20) due to danger to crews from high winds. However, the fire’s progress was monitored by two crews, and active fire fighting ramped up as soon as dawn broke, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said in a statement.

FENZ crews were called to the large scrub fire at about 7.45pm last night, with 11 appliances initially attending from Twizel, Mt Cook, Omarama, Burkes Pass and Lake Tekapo.

Six properties on Mt Cook Road/State Highway 80 were evacuated as a precaution on Wednesday night, with no further evacuations planned at this stage.

Fire and Emergency assistant commander Stephen Butler said the helicopters are working this morning in two sectors.

"One sector is focused on protecting residential homes and they are working in conjunction with ground crews to strengthen the fire break in this area.

"The second sector is at the northern end of the fire and working to protect a plantation in the area."

Diggers are also operating alongside FENZ ground crews to establish or widen fire breaks.

The wind is currently pushing the fire back onto itself, but a wind shift in the middle of Thursday is expected to push it back in the direction it was moving on Wednesday night, Stephen said. 

A second wind shift is also expected later in the day and crews will be mindful of staying safe throughout the day.

No damage has been seen to any homes as yet, which he credited to the lessons learned from the previous large fire at Pukaki Downs.

"The defensible spaces around the homes have been improved since then and this has prevented the fire spreading to homes."

Mount Cook Road/State Highway 80 was closed overnight between the Alpine Lavender Farm and the intersection with State Highway 8, and remains closed until further notice.