Investigations are underway after a large vegetation fire broke out near homes in Wānaka on Saturday, forcing 22 households to evacuate.
Fire and Emergency NZ was notified of the blaze in Albert Town around 7.28pm on Saturday.
The fire broke out behind residential houses on Lagoon Ave, Hunt Pl and McLellan Pl, running through around a kilometre of trees and scrub.
Footage and images from the scene showed flames leaping well above the treeline, with the sky glowing a deep orange as the fire ripped through vegetation.
Police were at the scene carrying out evacuations and controlling traffic.
The blaze was put out and residents returned to their homes shortly after 10pm.
In an update on social media today, Fire and Emergency Otago said it was seeking help from nearby residents or anyone who was in the area at the time of the fire.
"It's too soon to say if the circumstances are suspicious – at this stage our investigators are working to confirm where and how the fire started," Fire and Emergency Otago said.
Anyone with information – including photos or video from the early stages of fire, particularly around the lagoon end of the reserve south of Lagoon Ave, between 7.15pm and 7.45pm – was asked to email the fire investigation team on OtagoDistrictCRM@fireandemergency.nz.
'Pretty scary'
Local resident Max Messenger told 1News he heard a knock on his door at around 7.30pm on Saturday.
"It was an unknown voice, and she said, there's a huge fire along the bank. You need to evacuate now," he said at the time.
"It was pretty scary. We're a bit jaded today."
Northlake resident April Coutts said she could see the "huge" blaze from her house.
"We just jumped straight in the truck to investigate and see if people were OK, if they needed help," she said.
"It was insane. It was just crazy."
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