Running through the wilderness to get to a burning tramping hut, Andrew Shepherd's first thoughts were for the safety of his family.
The Department of Conservation ranger had taken his wife and three children into Mt Aspiring National Park as part of a week-long stint as volunteer wardens at the popular Siberia Hut.
Away on a day tramp further up the Siberia Valley on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Shepherd looked back across the hills and noticed thick smoke billowing up from the direction of the hut.
"At first, I thought a tramper had arrived, got the fire going, and had put too much coal on the range," he said.
As the smoke thickened, Mr Shepherd's instincts told him there was something wrong.
"I started running back down to the hut and, as I got closer and closer, you could see the place was on fire," he said.
It took him about 30 minutes to reach the 20-bunk hut, as thoughts raced through his head about whether anyone was inside.
He emerged from the bush to find his three children watching the blazing - and "thankfully, empty" - hut with their aunt, uncle and two cousins.
"There was a sense of relief that my family were safe, but I also had a gutted feeling, like, why did the hut have to burn down while I'm warden?" he said.
Mr Shepherd managed to salvage an emergency locator beacon and set the device off.
His wife, Ingrid, who was out walking in a different part of the valley, was the first to make it back to the burning hut after also being alerted by the thick smoke, Mr Shepherd said.
She tried to get to a fire extinguisher in the hut but as the flames grew stronger and the smoke and heat increased, she was forced to retreat.
She was halfway along the 7km track back down the valley to the Kerin Forks hut to raise the alarm when she met two New Zealand trampers who went to radio for help.
The trampers contacted the Doc Wanaka office on a hut radio but it was too late for the Siberia Hut, which was razed.
Also destroyed were all the belongings and packs of those accommodated there.
Doc Makarora staff swung into action to start an evacuation operation for trampers in the area.
Mr Shepherd, who is also a member of the Wanaka LandSAR team, said the focus of the group shifted to building a shelter, as heavy rain was forecast.
Makarora helicopter pilot Harvey Hutton and Doc ranger Chris Wilson flew into the valley to evacuate the trampers as the weather deteriorated.
A group of 18 trampers, including the five-strong Shepherd family, their four cousins, an Israeli couple, a German couple and visitors from Australia and South America were flown to Makarora.
Queenstown Lakes fire safety officer Stu Ide visited the site yesterday to investigate the cause of the fire.
Attempts to talk to him yesterday were unsuccessful.
Doc Wanaka area manager Paul Hellebrekers said the hut, which was insured, would be replaced.
About 2000 trampers a year visited the hut, which he said was a "popular and accessible back-country destination for families".
Built during the 1980s, the hut could cost more than $250,000 to replace, Mr Hellebrekers estimated.
