A fire fuelled by extreme winds has destroyed the Avodah Spiritual Respite centre in Kaikōura, one of 14 structures lost in a fast-moving blaze that swept through the area on Tuesday.

At around 1:40pm, smoke was first spotted on the Avodah property on Bay Paddock Road.

Within minutes, trees behind the house were ablaze, and the residence rapidly filled with smoke.

All occupants were forced to evacuate as surrounding trees caught fire.

“By the time we made it to the road, the house was starting to catch,” the centre’s founder and director John Bruce told Chris Lynch Media.

“The wind was like 150 to 180 kilometres an hour. Everything was flying through the air and the fire just jumped, it moved so fast.”

Emergency services were unable to reach the property immediately due to a fallen tree blocking access to Bay Paddock Road.

It is believed embers from a controlled burn on a farm further up the road, reignited by Tuesday’s gale-force winds, may have sparked the fire. A full investigation is underway.

A fundraising campaign to support the rebuilding of Avodah has been set up, donations can be made via their Givealittle page.

The fire destroyed five homes among the 14 structures lost in the wider Kaikōura area.

Read more: Fourteen structures, including five homes destroyed by fire in Kaikōura

Avodah Spiritual Respite was a community-driven, non-government-funded programme supporting people recovering from addiction, trauma, and mental health struggles.

Residents participated in gardening, community service, and faith-based recovery activities.

“We started three and a half years ago with a paintbrush. It’s been slowly built over time with help from donations and the hard work of our community. Now we’ve lost all our infrastructure,” Mr Bruce said.

“We’re beginning the clean-up and planning for a rebuild, because we’re committed to continuing this work.”

Four families spent Tuesday night at Takahanga Marae after being displaced by the fire.

Fire and Emergency NZ has established an Incident Management Team expected to remain in place through the end of the week. Managed access to affected properties is being arranged for residents.