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An arsonist is thought to be at work in Gisborne after two fires overnight saw residents evacuated, homes threatened and a sawmill destroyed.
Firefighters are still dampening down hotspots after a major scrub fire on Thursday night forced the evacuation of several Gisborne properties.
Double J Smallwoods owner John Gardner did all that he could to stop the fire from destroying his sawmill, but in tinder dry conditions and gusty winds he stood little chance, as 80% of the timber on his yard and potentially his livelihood went up in smoke.
Sixty fire fighters and five helicopters battled the blaze as residents in the Awapuni Road area were evacuated.
"It was hard to describe (the fire), it just looked like an inferno. It was just getting bigger and bigger and blacker and blacker, so we didn't look back, (we) just took off," says Awapuni Road resident, Lynn Trueman.
A second suspicious fire at a nearby auto wreckers has only added to concerns of an arsonist.
"We had another one start up within an hour and half of this one and while we had all our resources here, we still had to find two trucks to send to what was another large fire," says Gisborne area fire commander Charlie Turei.
Police have interviewed a man in his mid 30s in relation to the fires but have not yet made any arrests.
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