South Canterbury's rural fire chief is poised to impose fire restrictions as the region faces the prospect of its driest summer in five years.
South Canterbury principal rural fire officer Rob Hands says he is prepared to trigger the restrictions at short notice to combat a heightened fire risk caused by low recent rainfall and strong northwesterly winds.
Mr Hands said the expression "green drought" was an apt description for large areas of South Canterbury's countryside at present.
"It looks green, but it's much drier than most people appreciate. It's a green top, but it's not long before everything's going to go brown again."
Similar conditions were not experienced last year until late December, he said.
Although northwesterly winds were normal in August and September, this season had seen record wind speeds in some places, with some landowners telling him they were the strongest they had ever experienced.
The Fire Service attended 13 fires during a 12-hour period on September 14 and 15 - the majority caused by previously lit fires that had been rekindled by strong winds, he said.
Mr Hands said about 25cm of rain would be needed to avert the situation but, like farmers, he would prefer several smaller rainfalls.
"But we need an inch of rain now to start the recovery process."
Mr Hands said the consensus among weather forecasters was that Canterbury was facing a similar summer to that of 2003/04.
"In 2004 we had troops deployed from the North Island, and [Fire Service] national incident management teams down here to relieve the pressure on local managers."
He was particularly concerned by conditions in the Waihaorunga Valley and areas along the bottom of the foothills.
He was prepared to impose fire restrictions at short notice and recommended that rural landholders prepared accordingly.
However, his decision would be based on the analysis of weather data and a calculation of available fuel for fires, and he would not act prematurely.
"I appreciate that people in the rural community have the ability to burn [vegetation], and I don't want to take that right away from them, but at the same time I have a responsibility to make sure the rest of the community is safe."
Mr Hands said he managed fire restrictions by dividing the region into two zones: an inland sector comprising the Mackenzie Basin and Hakataramea Valley, and a coastal strip.
A "restricted" fire status meant that permits were required for anything more than a cooking fire.