Firefighters are racing against time to control several large scrub fires in Canterbury.
Crews were called to State Highway 8 near Lake Pukaki in the Mackenzie Region shortly after 3pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Traffic is backed up and the police have been called in to manage the congestion.
The blaze was set off when a truck caught fire east of the intersection of SH8 and SH80, the main road to Mt Cook.
Fire and Emergency spokesperson, Andrew Norris, says it's a huge operation with firefighters being called in from Twizel, Tekapo and Omarama.
"Crews arriving have identified multiple fires ranging in size from a couple of hundred square metres up to several hundred square metres in different locations," he told Newshub.
A helicopter with a monsoon bucket has arrived to help tackle the fires.
The NZ Transport Agency advised motorists that State Highway 8 in the South Island was closed between Twizel and Tekapo which has now reopened.
A spokesperson said there is a stop/go in place, running at ten minutes at a time for each direction.
