RICHARDS BAY - The fire that's consumed a Richards Bay woodchip factory is still going strong, but is under control.
The blaze, which started on Saturday at the NCT mill, could threaten hundreds of jobs.
Loss of revenue is estimated to run into millions.
It's still not clear what caused the fire, but investigations are underway.
The public has been urged to stay away as a change in wind direction could re-ignite the blaze.
Officials have roped in more resources, including helicopters to assist and say full investigations will reveal what exactly transpired.
No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
Umhlathuze head of EMS Zilindile Masango said, "I can say it's contained within the area that it's actually burning...we haven't actually killed the fire but it's still contained in that area and there are systems in place to make sure that we contain it in that place...in terms of our preliminary report we do suspect that it started from a conveyer belt."
"Obviously, as the city of uMhlathuze we may not have all the equipment and the fire engine including the choppers and helicopter to assist, so it's very important to get support. The fire that's there now, you need something aerial operation that will actually try and suffocate that fire from the top."
"From where we are with what we're doing and the control measures, we're still a bit confident that it can't get worse."