Firefighters are urging the public to stay away, as they continue to try bring the massive wildfire in Canterbury under control

The 980 hectare blaze has been burning through the foothills below the Southern Alps since Thursday.

Incident Commander Colin Russell says they're continuing to remove fuel and refresh retardant lines to protect structures.

Russell says they also had to remove members of the public yesterday, after reports of people near the exclusion zone by Cave Stream.

State Highway 73 remains open under traffic restrictions.