Yet another suspicious fire occurred in Buller overnight, this time near Mokihinui.
Granity Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Murray Watson said the older wooden house, on the bank of the Mokihinui River between the township and the Seddonville turn-off, was razed in the fire.
Mr Watson said a nearby resident must have heard something before raising the alarm shortly before 2.20am, although there would have been a delay given there was no cellphone coverage in the area.
"They obviously got woken up by something," Mr Watson said.
The house, on State highway 67 and about 57km north of Westport, was empty but not abandoned.
There was little the brigade could do on arrival and the Westport brigade was dispatched but turned back.
Mr Watson said the fire was "definitely suspicious". Both the police and a Fire Service inspector were due at the scene this morning.
West Coast police prevention manager Paul Watson said the vacant dwelling had been set on fire.
It was "too early to say" if there was a firebug active in the area or if the latest fire, quite a distance north of Westport, was part of a spate of suspicious house fires there in the past few months.
"Obviously we have got some issues in the (Westport) township which we are working around," Mr Watson said.
The CIB had begun an investigation into the latest fire, he said.
- By Brendon McMahon
