Fifty-one fires occurred on, or within a 1km fire safety margin of public conservation land, and the department assisted other rural fire authorities in six fires in the 2010-11 year.
Those fires cost $95,700 to control, but Doc deputy principal rural fire officer Trevor Mitchell said "that's a pretty quiet year".
Most years the cost of fires on public conservation land ranged between $150,000 and $200,000, he said.
"But you can get one fire like Mt Allan (near Dunedin, which burnt for weeks in February 2010) which costs $2 million. It's totally random."
There were a "number of avenues" through which such costs could be recovered, including through the courts, directly from the culprit, or insurance companies. If this was not possible, costs were covered by a national fund.
The most costly Otago Doc fire in the 2010-11 year was a blaze on Bobs Knob, Queenstown, which started in October when a tree fell through power lines.
It cost $64,000 for helicopters, the Fire Service and Queenstown Lakes District Council to battle the fire which was deemed "an act of God", Mr Mitchell said.
To date, 27 fires had been dealt with by, or on behalf of, Doc in the 2011-12 year.
While the number was "too many" for his liking, none of them had been "really expensive".
However, the New Zealand Army faced a bill of "several thousand dollars" after a fire broke out during a battle simulation exercise held at Danseys Pass in November.
Mr Mitchell said firefighting could be frustrating and the department wanted to reduce the number of fires attended.
"It boils down to people taking care with fires and being sensible," he said. People needed to be vigilant, report any signs of fire to the fire service, and ensure permitted fires were extinguished properly.
