Ten residents were forced out of their homes when fire raced across the Port Hills in Heathcote Valley, Christchurch yesterday.
It was the largest of two suspicious fire in the area.
Dozens of firefighters, eight fire engines, three tankers and three helicopters took several hours to contain the
fire, The Press newspaper reports.
The other fire, in nearby Cashmere, began about an hour earlier in a large pile of old tyres stored on a property.
Deputy fire chief Dave Burford said the fires were suspicious, but an investigation had to be held to find the cause.
"I've started over at the Cashmere fire and then had to rush to this one," he said.
"All I'll say is that it is very, very unusual to have two big fires at the same time."
Police said the Heathcote fire started about 4.40pm on the western side of Tunnel Road.
Throughout the afternoon, helicopters landed at the Heathcote Domain to have their buckets filled by firefighters.
Neighbours watched as the fire approached a house in Butts Valley Road, high up on the hill.
A neighbouring woman raced up the hill, entered her friend's house and rescued framed wedding and baby photos.
"I shut up all the windows and tried to find the cat, but I couldn't see it anywhere," she said.
A flaming tree stump - half the size of a family car - tumbled down the hill, smashed through a rear fence and came to rest in the back yard.
A helicopter dropped a bucketful of water across the area as firefighters shifted their attack to the house.
John Currie, managing director of Garden City Helicopters, said two of his helicopters were among those called in to dump huge volumes of water on the hillside above his home.
"It was very serious. It was unbelievable," he said. "The fire department did a fantastic job."
- NZPA
