Investigations into the cause of a fire which destroyed the Waikara marae wharekai are continuing.
A fire service spokesperson Wipari Henwood says a local whānau were down at the beach and saw smoke late yesterday afternoon.
He says the wharekai was a versatile garage shed. “The roof had fallen in so there was very little they could do to save the wharekai.”
The whānau did manage to save the marae wharenui.
Mr Henwood says they used buckets of water to save the building.
By the time the fire service arrived the wharekai was already destroyed.
It’s understood the fire was not suspicious.