At 8pm this evening the vegetation fire burning 25km south of Queenstown was under control, QLDC principal rural fire chief Gordon Bailey said.

"We have now contained the fire and a reconnaissance at 7.30pm confirmed we have only a few 'smokers' right at the top (Hector Mountains)," Mr Bailey said.

The helicopters which have been dousing the flames since 8am this morning were pulled out at 7pm.

"From tomorrow we will still need to utilise some helicopter power given the terrain, however where possible we plan to deploy ground crew with some air assistance to deal with ongoing hot spots," Mr Bailey said.

A crew would remain in the area to monitor the situation overnight and thermal imaging to detect hot spots between the Lake Wakatipu and the Kingston highway would continue to be undertaken until nightfall.

"At this stage, we are very hopeful that we may now be at the top end of this fire," Mr Bailey said.

The wind is beginning to die down and we are hoping for a calm night, he said.

The fire, which was first detected on Sunday on the Lake Wakatipu side of the Kingston Highway, was located in difficult and mountainous terrain and had burnt in excess of 739 ha.

ENDS

For further information please contact Meaghan Miller 027 293 5321.

By: Tamah