The cost of a fire in a forest block near Dunedin is expected to be high, but the plantation's owner hopes some of the trees are salvageable.
More than 800 hectares of the Wenita Forest Products plantation has been burnt since Tuesday last week.
Wenita chief executive David Cormack says more than half the area had been logged, but the rest had mature or semi-mature radiata pine, Douglas fir and eucalyptus trees destined mainly for the domestic building industry.
Mr Cormack says the Chinese and American-owned firm is talking to its insurance company about setting up a salvage logging operation. He is not expecting job losses as a result of the blaze.
