It's a year today since a fire ripped through the Lake Ōhau alpine village, forcing people to flee in the middle of the night.
Long-term Lake Ōhau holiday home owner Dave Honeyfield is planning to rebuild his retirement home after it was destroyed in the fire. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Roughly half the homes in the remote MacKenzie Basin village were destroyed or damaged.
It took firefighters days to put out the fire that engulfed more than 5000 hectares of land.
Locals are hoping for answers when the result of an investigation is are released in the coming weeks.
Walking through an empty section overlooking Lake Ōhau, Dave Honeyfield came across a rusty metal fireplace with a scorched pot and other kitchen utensils - all that was left of one of his properties.
Honeyfield lost four in total that night - two houses, an apartment and a sleepout.
Rebuilding a year after the fire that swept through Lake Ōhau alpine village Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
"Getting back up here before Christmas, even though I didn't have it all right to live in, it was basically like a win over the fire if you could say that, because we're real happy until the wind comes again, and then the memories come back."
Honeyfield who lived in Dunedin still planned to rebuild and retire to Lake Ōhau.
But for now, he had brought a former schoolroom transformed into a three bedroom house on to one of his properties .
"We've completed the deck so it does look a bit more respectable. It did come from a school in Christchurch, remnants after the earthquake and it's been totally refitted out and we're happy with it. Very easy to get it on the back of a truck and plonk it up here."
Overall, he was happy to be back.
"You're never going to plan for something like this and it's just been a nightmare for a lot of people but we've also ... come through the other side and that's the key. Onwards and upwards."
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Residents gathered on the shores of Lake Ōhau on Sunday to thank local firefighters for their bravery.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher said it was important to acknowledge their work.
"Through the bravery of them and a good number of the locals, it's the reason why we didn't have any deaths that night and why we have as many homes that were saved. It was because of those firefighters so there's a lot of be grateful for."
The mayoral fund - which received $100,000 from the government - covers various costs including building consents, clearing blackened trees and removing the 550 stumps from the roadside.
"There's still the reminders there. There's still some of the burnt trees, still some empty sections where there were houses before. But equally ... a lot of things are happening. There have been a lot of trees cleared. It's taken away some of that scarring, but ... also houses have popped up."
Discussions between the local council and Fire and Emergency were underway to work out what else can be done to protect the village.
Individual alarms for homes that are linked to a central system and a second fire siren were possible options.
A forest used to line part of road to The Barn at Killin B&B - but neither survived the fire.
The Barn at Killin B&B co-owners Dwayne, left, and Hugh Spiers. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
B&B co-owner Hugh Spiers was looking on the bright side as a local contractor began the first stages of rebuilding by preparing to install water tanks.
"Our beautiful forest has burnt and has now been cut down and taken away and left us with these magnificent, majestic scenery that we knew was there but we couldn't quite see it because of the trees.
"So we've turned that into a positive."
He was grateful for the many random acts of kindness over the last year from a very supportive community.
"The process of grieving, of having lost a property has been very traumatic. There's no rule book and ... people cope quite differently.
"But we've been there for one another and I think that just shows great community spirit."
Hugh Spiers couldn't wait to be back in business and hoped that they would be well settled in their distinctive barn well before the second anniversary.
