Fire cordons in Port Hills are being lifted, to give people a few hours' access to their homes.

Watch: A 1990 video produced for the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi has resurfaced, and stars a then 10-year-old Steve Askin.

Authorities working to contain the Port Hills fire are being helped by drizzle, which is forecast to turn to light rain this afternoon.

The Herald speaks with the Rural Fire Service crew, and their ongoing effort in controlling the fires.

Frustrated Port Hills locals are getting desperate to know when they will be allowed back onto their properties.

Christchurch must be wondering what it has done to deserve the ravages of nature.

Quakes and quakes, some flooding, more quakes, and now fires? Come on, Mother Nature, what's next?

Hundreds of firefighters continued working around the clock last night, hosing down hot spots and smothering embers from the devastating Port Hills blaze.

Chinese parents who lost their only child in Christchurch earthquake are pleading with govt to grant them lifelong visas so they can visit children's graves.

Smoky smells in Port Hills' properties does not pose a serious threat to health, authorities say.

Distraught residents of fire-ravaged Worsleys Rd are allowed back to visit their destroyed homes. Tristram Clayton was there with them when they discovered the extent of the damage.

Port Hills homeowners have this afternoon been allowed to return to their smouldering homes that have burned to the ground.

Frustrated homeowners still don't know whether their Port Hills homes are standing or have been ravaged by fire.

Contractors working in the area where the devastating fire first broke out on Monday pleaded for helicopters to be sent out, it can be revealed.

Plans are under way to get stranded residents back home, but winds may yet pose a danger.

Daily and weekly doses effective, but not monthly.

Kiwis dig deep to support family of helicopter pilot killed fighting Christchurch's Port Hills fire.

Helicopters are getting ready to go up and give emergency workers an overview of any fresh destruction.

Civil Defence minister wants the law governing emergencies improved.

A quieter night for firefighters as the deadly Port Hills wildfire enters its fifth day.

The Port Hills fires in Christchurch merged into one huge blaze, threatening houses and lives. About 1000 people left their homes as the fire reached 1850ha, creating a big challenge for firefighters. A state of emergency has been declared in Christchurch and Selwyn.

Allan Gibson, 82, disappeared from the Mayfair Lifecare rest home about 6.30pm yesterday.

Watch: The wildfire races across a section of the Port HIlls, growing in intensity, in the timelapse footage.

Civil Defence's reports of houses destroyed by fire and evacuations over the past 24 hours have varied wildly.

A Christchurch couple who were told that their home was lost in the Port Hills blaze, just hours after finally insuring it, appear to have had a lucky escape.

Exactly how many properties have been damaged by fires in Christchurch will not be known until much later, authorities say. And although

Tristram Clayton speaks to Civil Defence about the coordinated response to the State of Emergency in Christchurch.

The gorse, grass and pines on the Port Hills are ideal plants to fuel the wildfires sweeping through the area.

A photographer who surveyed the damage of the Port Hills fire from the air has shared the incredible images that show the devastation.

All Blacks legend speaks to NZME in his first interview since the wildfires.