Clyde chief fire officer Richard Davidson said about 26 fire fighters, from Clyde, Alexandra and rural crews attended the fire at Summerfruit Orchards and they spent about four hours extinguishing the blaze.
"It was pretty substantial and all that's left of the iron shed is a buckled mess apart from one small part of the building, a flat, or accommodation of some sort, that wasn't destroyed.''
The fire was fanned by north west winds which reached about 40kph, he estimated, and firefighters concentrated on containing the fire and preventing it spreading into the orchardor the surrounding buildings.
The burnt building was about 300-400m away from the main packhouse and administration complex and the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, he said.
Irrigation equipment, hydra-ladders and other machinery were destroyed in the fire.
A scene guard was at the site overnight to prevent anyone gaining access to the fire scene before fire investigators carried out their inspection, Mr Davidson said.
The cause of the fire was unknown at this stage.
Sumerfruit Orchard went into receivership in September and the operation has since been sold, as a going concern, to a New Zealand buyer, the receivers said last week.
