Two homes and a historic pub have been gutted by a series of suspicious fires at Andamooka in the state’s Far North.

Key points:

  • The recently renovated Opal Hotel is among the structures gutted in the remote town
  • Police say they suspect arson after the fires broke out this week 
  • The local community is devastated by the loss of the hotel 

Twenty-five volunteer firefighters attended a number of fires which started around 4pm Monday and 1am Tuesday.

Significant damage was caused to a home on Sultan Road, while early the following morning a blaze broke out at the refurbished Andamooka Opal Hotel on Opal Creek Boulevard.

The suspected arson attack has dashed the plans of developers to re-open the pub which had been closed for nine years.

Homes were also significantly damaged in separate fires.(Supplied: Junita Henderson)

The hotel is estimated to have sustained $250,000 worth of damage, however fire crews were able to protect the nearby accommodation.

Co-lease developer Ben Beaumont said the community was devastated.

He said many people had looked forward to a new social location for the opal mining community. 

“All the shops are shut … no service station … no supermarket.”

The newly renovated hotel fell victim to a suspected arson attack.(Supplied: Ben Beaumont)

He said the project to revitalise the hotel had been underway for months.

“I’m an electrician by trade, I was in the process of rewiring it and getting it up to standard.”

Despite the fire, he said he hoped locals would continue to work on the hotel and that it would re-open once again.

SAPOL is calling for anyone with information on the fires to call CrimeStoppers.