Those first on the scene of the fire, which closed roads and forced the evacuation of nearby residents, were met with dramatic scenes.
One resident was seen fleeing his burning home clad only in pants as the fire erupted along three neighbouring homes.
Firefighters initially feared two people were trapped inside a home before confirming everyone was accounted for.
Footage of the fierce blaze showed bright orange flames shooting out of a home nestled among trees, and the roar of the flames could be heard as firefighters began their work.
Dave Dunlay saw one homeowner partially dressed and worried his St Bernard dog was still inside.
“The man who owned the house was just wearing his pants, no top, no shirt, no anything”, Dunlay said last night.
The aspiring Christchurch City Council candidate, who lives on the same street, initially thought the weather was taking a turn for the worse and was unaware homes were on fire.
“It looked like there was a low cloud and a mist descending on the street, and I thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to rain’,” Dunlay said.
“Then I smelled the smoke and went outside and there were these huge flames.”
A friend saw the large two-storey wooden buildings catch alight, Dunlay said.
“The first one that caught fire, it just went so fast, he was saying, and then, it jumped to the house close by.
“The houses are very close, only a few metres apart. It jumped to the second house, and that ignited pretty quickly.”
Police began evacuating nearby residents around 5.15pm.
Fire and Emergency had been alerted to the fire 10 minutes earlier, sending seven fire engines, a tanker and a command unit to the scene.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.