A fire investigator has ruled out two possible causes of the fire which ruined a large workshop building at an Earnscleugh orchard.
However, the cause remained a mystery, specialist fire investigator Paul Glanville, of Queenstown, said yesterday.
Mr Glanville inspected the fire scene at Summerfruit Orchards Ltd on Sunday and again yesterday and said he was confident it was not deliberately started.
He had also ruled out a grass fire as the cause.
Firefighters were called to the property about 5.20pm on Saturday.
Twenty-six firefighters battled the blaze for about four hours, after it was fanned by strong northwest winds.
The 40m by 20m shed contained irrigation supplies, tractors and hydraladders.
''At this stage, we believe it started through some natural cause, but we have yet to determine that cause,'' Mr Glanville said.
• A heavy shower of rain extinguished a fire which was caused by a mower hitting a stone on Teviot farmland yesterday afternoon.
Millers Flat Chief Fire Officer Brian Timpson said the farmer had been cutting hay in the extremely dry conditions only because rain was forecast.
''He almost got away with it, but a fire did start. Luckily for him, the fire didn't spread very far before a heavy rain shower fell and ... put the fire out.''
