GISBORNE, NEW ZEALAND — A fire has badly damaged the Corson Grain Mill in Gisborne, New Zealand, according to 1News.

Firefighters were called to the plant, which processes corn for cereal products and animal feed, on the evening of March 1 and eventually were able to contain the blaze, 1News reported.

Residents near the mill were evacuated as a precaution, according to the New Zealand Herald.

A fire department official told News1 that the fire is currently being treated “as a crime scene” and that there was “no obvious cause of the fire.”

The Gisborne area already is reeling from Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused widespread damage, including to local crops, in early February.

Corson has three maize mills, two in New Zealand, and one in Australia. The company is a leading producer of corn-based ingredients to the food industry across Australasia and southeast Asia, and currently produces flaking grits, semolina, polenta, maize flour, popcorn and dressed maize.