The caution followed a "near miss" near Moke Lake, off the Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd, on Monday night.
Doc rural fire officer Jamie Cowan said an illegal campfire was lit in "one of the worst places possible", directly below the heavily wooded slopes leading up to Corsican Cove and Alpine Retreat, where about 30 houses sit in a high fire-risk area.
"This area is one of many that has been identified as high risk and as such has had specific fire response plans prepared by the Department of Conservation, in conjunction with the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS), police and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC)," Mr Cowan said.
The plans were tested last October when a blaze prompted the evacuation of families from their homes in the early hours.
The fire came to within 4m of one house.
"The site of the illegal campfire on Monday was less than 600m away from the October blaze," Mr Cowan said.
"Luckily, the smoke was spotted by a nearby resident, who told the campers to put it out and passed on the information to the authorities."
Mr Cowan said although campers might think they were quite safe when they lit a small fire to cook on, they failed to think about what could happen if the wind were to get up, or if embers were left smouldering when the campers either went to sleep or left the area.
"It is an offence to light any open-air fire without a permit in the Queenstown Lakes District at any time of the year, let alone when we are currently under a total fire ban.
"As rural fire authorities, both Doc and QLDC have found the remains of campfires over the past few months and NZFS have also been involved.
"Any fires, particularly in these high-risk areas, can quickly go from a small campfire to a raging inferno, so remember, if you see smoke, call 111."
