Several homes have been damaged - and others forced to be evacuated - as firefighters battle a large grass and bush fire which has broken out in Rolleston. Fire and Emergency NZ was alerted to the blaze - near Knights Rd - about 3pm. The blaze started on a Knights Rd property and has since spread across paddocks. He'd spoken to a relative at Christchurch Airport, about 20km away, who said they could see the smoke from there. Ashburton TV director Tony Arthur happened to be driving past when he came upon the huge blaze.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 23, 2017 03:33 UTC