A large fire that raged through a forestry plantation in Taieri Beach could be suspicious, Fire and Emergency New Zealand says.
A Fenz spokeswoman said there were reports of trees and possibly gorse on fire in Finlaysons Rd about 8.40pm on Sunday.
When volunteer crews from Milton and Waihola stations arrived, they found the fire was well involved and was covering an area of about 600sqm, the spokeswoman said.
Tankers from Balclutha and Lawrence stations were also dispatched.
By 9.30pm the fire area was down to about 200sqm.
Conditions were extremely windy and crews had to work to stop it spreading through a forestry block owned by Wenita Forest Products.
By 12.10am yesterday the fire was deemed contained and crews continued dampening down the area throughout the night.
The last appliance departed at 7am and the scene was left in the hands of Wenita and a rural fire investigator.
Wenita chief executive David Cormack said the damage from the fire was "pretty minor" and only about a third of a hectare of pine trees had been damaged.
