Hot nor-westerly winds and a lack of rain have been the norm lately, prompting Fire and Emergency NZ to appeal to anyone who has lit fires in recent weeks to ensure they are fully extinguished.
The call comes as volunteer brigades were called out to multiple vegetation fires over the past week.
On Thursday night and Friday morning, crews battled a forestry fire near the Pines Beach, which started in a large pile of slash.
Crews also responded to fires at Broomfield, Hurunui, and Eyrewell in Waimakariri last weekend.
With the aid of helicopters, the Broomfield fire was contained after spreading along hedges and burning rank grass.
It caused stock losses and angst for many residents in the area. But no buildings were lost.
Fenz had to put out a call urging the public to stay away from the site to allow crews to work safely and to keep out of the way of people evacuating stock.
Volunteer fire crews from Oxford, Cust and Swannanoa brigades responded quickly to a dense scrub fire on the banks of the Waimakariri River at Eyrewell on Sunday.
It was quickly brought under control, but flared up again on Monday morning, due to strong winds.
Brigades were able to dampen it down before it spread.
A FENZ spokesperson says a major issue was old burn piles.
The spokesperson said several fires over the weekend were linked to old burn piles that had not been properly extinguished.
Some were more than five days old but had reignited in the hot, dry conditions.
They urged anyone who has had a fire in the past seven days to check it immediately.
People should rake out the pile to see if it is warm in the middle and, if so, apply water and continue raking until it is cold throughout.
Environment Canterbury data for Waimakariri and Hurunui shows some areas have only recorded 3.5mm to 9mm of rain in six days, while Kainga Yard recorded no rainfall at all.
