Fire and Emergency New Zealand is urging people to stay away from the Port Hills area for their recreational activities this weekend.

Incident Commander Dave Stackhouse says a massive effort from all our firefighters, helicopters, diggers and support crews has meant good progress has been made on the fire.

However, it is still not 100 per cent contained and there will be a significant firefighting presence on the Port Hills this weekend.

"We have favourable conditions until the north-westerly comes in on Sunday, so we’re going to make the most of it by getting as much of this fire knocked down over the next two days as possible," Dave Stackhouse says.

"What this means is we’ll have a lot of trucks and crews moving around the roads and tracks of the Port Hills, so we really need people to stay away from the area this weekend so our operations aren’t impeded."

All evacuated residents now have access to their homes after arrangements were made for the remaining evacuated homes in the Summit Road area to have access today.

Dave Stackhouse thanked these residents for their patience and co-operation while they were evacuated this week.

"We do need them to stay ready to leave again at short notice should that be required. Have a bag packed with all of your essentials and make sure you have plans in place for pets and animals."

The next update will be on Saturday morning.

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