The fire began at lunchtime on Tuesday and by home-time Auckland was at a standstill. Traffic ground to a halt. Businesses shut. The public was warned to stay away. Smoke poured from the fire consuming the roof of the New Zealand International Convention Centre, a SkyCity project already beset with controversy and delays, and now facing its biggest struggle yet - a rebuild. Kirsty Johnston reports on the fire that would not go out.
'S*** someone's left a blowtorch on': Inside the SkyCity inferno
![Black smoke from a fire at the Sky City Convention Centre construction site in central Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/DQAQXMHBYI5LHQXC24UIRSFIEU.jpg?auth=bf1238751eb9489cdb1f29b59bb2c47cbcbd72622d97bcddb75f7734313456fd&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)