Mountain Biking Otago president Kristy Booth said a full inspection had not yet been possible, as firefighters worked to dampen down hot spots following the fire on Tuesday.
It appeared the 4X, 4WD and Telecom tracks had received "minimal" damage, but the state of the Quarry track, further up the hill, was not yet known, she said.
"Our main concern is going to be what we’re going to find in ... the Quarry track.
"That’s just up in the first of the pines that you can see. We know it [the fire] has gone in there, but it’s just what we’re going to find when we get in there."
The tracks mainly followed the lie of the land and were built with dirt, but some larger jumps were made with logs, she said.
If they had burnt, or if damage to surrounding trees had destabilised the tracks, repairs would be needed, she said.
Similar damage resulting from a fire in the area 10 years ago had forced the tracks’ closure for four months, she said.
Despite that, Mrs Booth remained positive, saying only about 20% of Signal Hill’s tracks had been affected this time and an excavator used to build the network had not been damaged in the fire.
She was full of praise for the efforts of firefighters and helicopter crews in containing the fire.
"We are very fortunate that it was contained as quickly as it was, with minimal impact to the MBO tracks," she said.
Mrs Booth said it was hoped a national event scheduled for Signal Hill in February would proceed, as long as a lengthy closure of the tracks was not required.
"We’ll just have to move away from that area, and there’s plenty of other tracks for us to come down.
"We’re quite positive it’s going to be OK."
Otago Rural Fire Authority operations manager Graeme Still said yesterday all recreational tracks on Signal Hill would be closed until further notice.
Users should expect the closure to last for at least the next three days, he said.
Yesterday, volunteer firefighters, assisted by one digger, continued "mopping up" after the blaze. Ten people continued searching for and dampening down hot spots and "smokies".
Yesterday’s drizzle was not enough to assure firefighters the area was completely safe and they were still hoping for a good downpour. Until rain arrived, the authority would be visiting the hill daily, Mr Still said.
