Shocking new footage shot by 1 NEWS shows the destruction wrought by the fire at Lake Ōhau in the Mackenzie Basin, South Island.
The wildfire has already destroyed between 40 and 50 structures.
Fire crews worked overnight after a massive blaze tore through the idyllic lakeside spot.
The flames forced hundreds of people to flee in the early hours of yesterday morning, after the fire broke out on Saturday.
This afternoon, 1 NEWS' cameras captured the aftermath with homes and cars by the lakeside left in charred ruins.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher this morning told TVNZ1's Breakfast the "minor miracle" in the devastating event was that locals had a good plan in place.
"I spoke to a gentleman yesterday who got up to his dog, opened the door and saw this wall of orange coming towards them and so he shot down and turned on the village siren, which is what it's for, and that alerted a lot of people and they all went door-to-door knocking and making sure that everyone got out safely," he said.
Between 40 and 50 structures have been lost in the blaze so far. (Source: Other)
"It is absolutely a minor miracle that no one was hurt.
"Another 15-20 minutes it would have been a very different story."
Also on Breakfast, Te Kei Region manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand Mike Grant hailed locals as "champions" and said their vigilance saved lives.
Hugh Spiers lost his home and business in the fire, and says everything’s “still a blur”. (Source: Other)
"The plan activated, the people went to where the assembly areas, the evacuation points that were part of the plan, and consequently everybody was evacuated and there's no lives lost," he said.
Lake Ōhau resident Hugh Spiers lost his Airbnb business and home in the wildfire.
“It’s so surreal, it’s all gone so it’s hard to fathom,” he said.
With guests staying in his accommodation, Spiers quickly woke them to escape the flames.
“We woke up and we thought we were in F****** hell,” he said.
"The wind was so strong and the flames and the smoke and the sparks and the embers, it was just like what you see in the bush fires in Australia,” he said.
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