Burnt trees and grass around the Christchurch Adventure Park after the Port Hills fire.

Christchurch Adventure Park has laid off staff on fixed-term contracts as the full extent of the fire damage and length of closure remains unknown.

The park employed about 90 people when it was forced to close on February 14 due to the Port Hills fire encroaching into the park. It has been closed since and is understood to have suffered significant damage in the fire.

Park spokeswoman Anne Newman said she did not know exactly how many staff had been let go, but it was those on fixed-term contracts due to expire at the end of this month and in April.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ Action from the opening day of riding at the Christchurch Adventure Park in December.

"We've retained as many staff as possible but due to the uncertainty around the closure we had to let some of them go."

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Newman said it was too early to say when the park would reopen because it was still under the control of fire authorities so park management had been unable to fully assess the damage.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/FAIRFAX NZ The multimillion-dollar Christchurch Adventure Park opened in December last year.

There had been no redundancies and remaining staff were continuing to be paid, she said.

"It's just so frustrating. We did not want to be in a position to do something like that. Our staff were one of the many reasons for our success."

Some of those with contracts ending in February were university students and would not have wanted their contracts renewed, but others would have been hoping their contracts would have been extended, Newman said.

Christchurch City Council The Port Hills fire has caused extensive damage to the Christchurch Adventure Park.

The staff have been told they would be the first to be rehired when the park was back up and running, she said.

Firefighters were managing a number of hot spots in the valley.

Newman said they understood the chairlift had been damaged and at least two of the zip lines would have to be replaced. Staff had managed to take some of the chairs off the lift before they had to leave, but some remaining chairs were damaged. The village, including the restaurant and bar, had not been damaged.