Firefighters are now facing a wind change at the Awarua fire, which has the potential to further spread the blaze.

Gusts are expected to reach to 40km/h.

Incident Controller Mark Mawhinney says firefighters are establishing a fire break at the head of the Tiwai peninsula to slow the fire and stop it from spreading.

One crew of seven firefighters will be patrolling the fire break overnight, with two helicopters on standby.

Tomorrow, the wind is expected to shift to westerlies, then to north-westerlies in the afternoon, with moderate winds.

This should ease conditions, allowing firefighters to continue their progress on putting out the fire.

The fire started at Awarua Bay on 2 April and now extends as far as the significant Waituna Wetlands.

It has increased in size from 1.5 hectares (ha) to over 1000 ha.

People are reminded that there is still a prohibited fire season in Southland. It is still dry across the area and no outdoor fires are allowed.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand say this will be the last update for today, unless anything changes.

The next update will be tomorrow morning.