Fire crews battling the wild fire on Christchurch's Port Hills say the fight is far from over.
Around 150 firefighters are dampening hot spots with fire retardants and building fire breaks over the 30km boundary.
But there are fears around large amounts of potential fuel in old forestry blocks.
"In the Dyers Pass area, where all these heavy fuels are, the fire's hiding in amongst that forest and if that gets up and runs again, it goes from woe to go in a matter of minutes," says incident controller Richard McNamara.
Thermal imaging from an aircraft is being carried out daily, as some hotspots are inaccessible by ground.
Mr McNamara says around 100 to 150 firefighters will continue to fight the fire for the next week "at least," as well as 10-12 aircraft, but things are going to plan.
"By the end of the day, we'll have good control on the boundary. Obviously there's still really hot areas we have to deal with around homes and properties up Kennedy's Bush Rd and Early Valley Rd."
While around 68 percent of the fires are contained, there are still significant risks.
Tim Mitchell of the National Rural Fire Authority says keeping the fire contained is a logistical nightmare.
"There are some very hot areas... some of the areas have been 300 to 400degC.
"So the planning around that is, is looking at where those hot spots are and thinking about these changing weather conditions."
Dozens of residents forced from their homes by fire were allowed to briefly return to their properties today.
People whose homes are behind the cordons around Kennedy's Bush Rd and Hoon Hay Rd had an hour to retrieve belongings.
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