Crews have been working hard on the Awarua fire ground throughout the day. The fire is 1350ha (the increase is due to updated mapping) with a perimeter of 26km.

Incident Controller Mark Mawhinney says he is pleased with the progress they have made.

"They have done an amazing job in some challenging conditions," he says.

Weather forecast predicts southwest winds 75-90 km/h, possible gusts of 100km/h.

"These conditions increase the chance of the fire becoming more active, Waituna residents may see more smoke in the air tomorrow," Mark says.

"Please stay away from the area to keep yourself, and our firefighters, safe - it is still an active fire.

"Crews will be back on site tomorrow morning to continue extinguishing the fire."

This will be the last update for today unless anything changes. Another update will be provided tomorrow.

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