Police are treating a dramatic blaze which tore through trees at an Oamaru high school yesterday as suspicious.
Emergency services were called to a fire involving 200m of mature macrocarpa trees at Waitaki Boys' High School shortly before 9am on Tuesday. Four fire crews responded, with a fire investigator on the scene yesterday.
Sergeant Blair Wilkinson said "several individuals" had been identified by officers to be spoken to as part of inquiries.
He said the fire was initially treated as unexplained but that police were now treating the blaze as suspicious.
Witnesses described a dramatic scene as the fire rapidly intensified.
One nearby resident told 1News the flames erupted "pretty quickly", with fire spreading through trees and vegetation in a matter of minutes.
The resident also reported power outages in the area as emergency services worked to contain the blaze.
Waitaki Boys' High School confirmed all students and staff were safe.
"As you will know, there has been a fire on the school grounds, hedge on Don Field. Fire is now under control, and everyone is safe. Huge thanks to the emergency services for their quick response."
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