The tragic story behind this rooftop photo
Three man sat on the roof of a sleepout and watched helplessly as their place of work went up in flames.
The owner of Dunedin's Valley Lumber yard, Peter Chalmers, lost his entire winter income in a blaze that raged through Dunedin's Burnside industrial complex on Wednesday.
Chalmers and his staff were forced to flee the fire, which at its peak blazed 30 metres high as 2000 tonnes of dry logs were tinder for falling embers fanned by strong winds.
The men retreated to the nearby home of co-worker James Millar, where his daughter, Emalee, snapped a picture of the trio as they watched the drama unfold beneath them.
"They were very stressed out and worried," the aspiring photographer said.
Her photo had attracted dozens of responses and more than 1400 likes on Facebook.
"It just captured the emotion," she said.
The yard and several other properties on on McLeods Rd remain cordoned off on Thursday as fire crew dampen down hotspots and contractors repair powerlines.
Chalmers said they were about to finish up for the day when he smelt what he thought was a grass fire.
"I was just locking the gate when I looked up the hill and saw the fire," he said. As soon as he saw it he phoned 111.
"Within 15 minutes it reached us and it just took off through the yard – it was like a holocaust."
The city had hit more than 32 degrees Celsius when the fire took off.
"We were battling small fires in the yard, but the hot embers just kept coming down and we didn't have enough water," Chalmers said.
"Everything was just so bone dry and it was 37C fanned by strong wind, so it was just happened real quick."
He said he only had partial insurance and estimated about $250,000 to $300,000 worth of stock had burned.
After watching the events unfold, he was evacuated to a nearby friend's house and sat down for his first bite to eat and a beer at 10pm.
"It's just what happens I suppose; I'm just glad nobody was hurt."
Written by Brad Flahive and Hamish McNeilly. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
Hero image credit: Emalee Millar / Facebook