A scrub fire that threatened homes on a south Wellington hillside has briefly flared up again.
Strong winds threw up embers and ignited an area of hill above Happy Valley Road, south of Brooklyn, early on Friday morning.
The fire broke out about 2am on Thursday forcing the evacuation of about 30 people from their homes.
The Rural Fire Service said it had just stood down two volunteer crews when the fire reignited in an area about 20 metres by five metres.
Scene commander Jock Darragh said the flare-up occurred in the half-hour window between one crew standing down and the next beginning work, and had since been put out.
Mr Darragh said light overnight rain hasn't even been enough to wet the ground, and moderate winds will continue to ignite flare-ups for a few days.
He said the fire has gone underground and it will take several days to find and extinguish each hotspot.
