[3] On 14 February 2024 a similar fire started in the same area, triggering a state of emergency, a major deployment of firefighting helicopters, and evacuations of nearby houses.

In the early afternoon, a helicopter fighting the fires crashed, killing the pilot and sole occupant Steve Askin.

[14] The interim report from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) released in May 2017 suggested the Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil crashed after the empty monsoon bucket swung back and was entangled in the tail rotor.

[15] During Tuesday, the fire went into the grounds of the Christchurch Adventure Park, coming "dangerously close" to the top station of the chairlift.

[18] About 89,000 Christchurch residents lost power in the afternoon for half an hour after the smoke and flames caused a Transpower 220 kV line to trip;[18] this also shut down the city council's water pump stations and fire fighters lost water access from fire hydrants.

[20] Approximately 1000 people were forced to evacuate their homes, including in the suburbs of Cashmere, Westmorland, Kennedys Bush, and along Worsleys Road.

[21] Many roads within the Port Hills area were closed to give unhindered access to emergency services, undisrupted by onlookers.

[21] At 9 pm, the fire jumped across Dyers Pass Road and went into Victoria Park, prompting authorities to order the evacuation above the Sign of the Takahe.

Insurance Australia Group (IAG), for example, issued a moratorium for properties with postcodes 7672, 8022, 8025, and 8971, and this covered some Christchurch suburbs on the flat several kilometres away from the Port Hills.

The first opinion on the cause was offered by the Prime Minister, Bill English, when he visited the site on Thursday and declared that two fires starting at about the same time "looks a bit suspicious".

[26] A day later, an Orion (electricity distributor) fire investigator Ken Legat told Newstalk ZB that it's "certainly suspicious".

[27] In 2018 FENZ released a statement that they believe the fires were lit deliberately, but that the cause was officially undetermined due to a lack of evidence.

[28] Gerry Brownlee, the Minister of Civil Defence, was critical of the authorities as to why a rural agency was in charge of coordinating the response to fighting a fire located mostly in Christchurch City Council's area.