Hundreds of blackened pine tree trunks stand testament to the destructive power of fire.
The trees, which were healthy and strong a week ago, now resemble charcoal needles piercing the grey skies above Dunback.
It has been more than a week since firefighters battled a small scrub fire in Stoneburn Rd - a fire which eventually swept through more than 100ha of grass and forest - and it will be weeks more before rural firefighters can truly relax.
''It won't be tackled fully for a long time,'' Otago Rural Fire Authority deputy principal rural fire officer Kerry O'Neill said.
Firefighters were first called to a small scrub fire on Sunday, October 4.
It had flared up from a controlled burn which was more than a month old.
On Wednesday, that fire came back and tore through the forestry blocks and scrubland of Stoneburn Rd.
''The fire just travels through the crown of the trees, so there's nothing left and it's pretty much unstoppable with the wind behind it,'' he said.
''Whatever is burning on the tops of the trees, it only takes one ember and it gets into the canopy of the next block and away it goes again.
''It just blew itself right through. This is a really hot, clean burn.''
Spot fires flared up more than 1km from the original blaze.
It first jumped Stoneburn Rd into the forestry block and then ''on to the next ridge and then on to the next ridge''.
''About one and a-half kilometres it was spotting in front of the main fire.''
Firefighters felt the blaze was under control, but being vigilant and risk-conscious, they would be touching wood till there was heavy rain.
A crew from the Glenorchy Volunteer Rural Fire Force continued to mop up yesterday and half of that crew would remain today, Mr O'Neill said.
''We are letting things lie at the moment,'' he said.
