The Roxburgh community is reeling after a massive blaze destroyed the town's historic town hall today.
Fourteen fire appliances and two command units came from as far as Dunedin to the blaze in the more than 110-year-old building, home to one of the longest-operating cinemas in the world.
In a post on social media this evening the Central Otago District Council thanked all those who had tried in vain to save the building.
"Sadly the building has been destroyed."
The council said engineers were making a safety assessment of the facade in a hope that it could be retained.
"We know this was a huge shock to everyone, thank you so much for your understanding and support throughout the day."
Earlier, flames were seen shooting up to 10 metres in the air from the building's roof, nearby properties were evacuated and a large crowd gathered to watch the emergency response over the afternoon.
Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley travelled from Waitangi Day celebrations in Queenstown and said the scene was confronting.
‘‘I think she's probably pretty well gone from the looks of it.
‘‘Everybody will be pretty devastated to lose an iconic building.’’
Firefighters were drawing water from the Clutha River and the CODC issued an urgent conserve water notice for Roxburgh and the Lake Roxburgh Village, asking all residents and visitors to reduce water usage to critical needs only, to help crews fight the fire.
Crews were working on an external attack, using an aerial appliance to douse flames from a height and prevent the fire spreading to other buildings, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said.
Teviot Valley councillor Sally Feinerman said there was still a lot of smoke and flames coming from the building at 3.30pm.
It appeared the fire was spreading from the entertainment centre at the front of the building to the town hall at the rear, she said.
"People are feeling really sad," she said.
"Just the age of the building and it being the longest-running movie theatre in the southern hemisphere.
"They've just done so much work upgrading the facility which is really devastating for the group that run the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre.
"It's the biggest meeting place we have in Roxburgh."
Traffic was being diverted from the town's main street (State Highway 8), she said.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi advised motorists to allow for extra time and follow the instructions emergency services on site.
Otago Daily Times Central Otago reporter Julie Asher was at the scene, which she described as "unbelievable".
"It's just heartbreaking."
The building would be seriously damaged, she said.
Another witness at the scene said some windows of the building had blown out and flames could be seen inside.
Holding his toddler son, Alfie, in his arms, Roxburgh local Daniel Dance was emotional as he watched the fire.
"It's my whole life. My father [Doug] was on the committee that set up the theatre. I spent my whole life in that building, since I was little."
Another person watching said the fire was devastating and there were decades of memories going up in flames.
Tourists gathered on top of the hill above King George V Park to watch the fire.
Included were people from Wanaka and Dunedin, who had planned to take their children to the park below, but were watching the fire instead.
Last month, an electrical fire in the cinema caused minor damage, but early detection by a recently installed fire alarm meant fire crews were there within five minutes.
The Central Otago District Council owns the building but the cinema is operated by a volunteer-run charitable trust whose profits return to the theatre.
The cause of the current fire is not yet known, though Mrs Alley suggested talk was that it might also have been electrical.
