A grass fire near Lake Hayes yesterday morning could have been ''much worse'' and was a reminder of how dry the region is, Otago deputy rural fire officer Jamie Cowan says.
The Frankton Fire Brigade was called to the 50m by 50m fire on Onslow Rd, near Lake Hayes Estate, at 5.15am, and quickly had it under control, Mr Cowan said.
However, it could have been ''much worse'', he said.
''It was lucky it started very early in the morning with the heavy dew and no wind.''
Had it happened yesterday afternoon it could have threatened houses.
The fire was likely started by spontaneous combustion of grass clippings that ''some of the locals have been quietly squirreling down the bank''.
Grass clippings could heat up enough during hot days to catch fire and needed to be properly dumped.
''Don't go dumping your green waste down the bank into long piles of grass; either dump it in your compost heap or into a proper green waste facility,'' he said.
The fire also served as a reminder of how dry it was, despite the fact it ''looks quite green''.
''We haven't had any significant rain in Queenstown for a month.''
Anyone thinking about lighting bonfires on New Year's Eve needed to remember ''no permit, no fire'', Mr Cowan added.
Elsewhere in the region, two fire appliances and other back-up vehicles, including water tankers, were used to fight a sizeable grass fire believed to have started when a power line from a pylon fell close to Roxburgh East Rd, near Roxburgh early on Saturday.
The Fire Service was alerted at 12.43am and firefighting continued for at least 90 minutes before the fire was extinguished.
The fallen line may also have resulted in a brief power outage in nearby Ettrick, also early on Saturday.
