The call comes after up to 20ha of the Flat Top Hill conservation area near Alexandra was ravaged by fire yesterday.
The cause is under investigation.
While recent rain had provided some respite for the coastal strip, some inland areas were very dry, and the fire risk was very high.
Waitaki District Council emergency services manager Chris Raine said the driest part of his area was the upper Waitaki Valley, where the risk was very high, and around Macraes, where it was high.
Recent rain on the coastal strip meant the danger there was moderate.
Officers had been patrolling the valley, and there had been a meeting in Otematata, where the issue was discussed with community leaders.
"It's a matter of just being careful, especially in the upper Waitaki Valley.
"Any fire that does break out will spread."
Mr Raine said holiday-makers needed to be particularly careful using barbecues.
In Dunedin, city council civil defence and rural fires manager Neil Brown said a fire ban put in place across the Strath Taieri, including rural parts of the city and Middlemarch, had not yet been lifted.
The coastal area was in a restricted fire season, though people with permits could still conduct burns "with care".
Officers were on normal holiday rosters.
"I guess the issue is people are out doing activities like motorbiking in more rural areas.
"You've got more people out there doing those sorts of things that could create a fire if they're not careful.
"They need to be aware of that."
People lighting camp fires needed to do so in ap-proved places, and he urged campers to make sure they extinguished embers thoroughly, using plenty of water, and to stir the water in with a stick to completely douse them.
Queenstown Lakes District Council principal rural fire chief Gordon Bailey said the fire risk in his area was high, but not extreme.
"We had a little bit of rain a couple of days ago.
"Wanaka is particularly dry.
"With people camping in all sorts of places, it heightens the risk."
Fire permits were not being issued, and there should not be any fires.
"We're being vigilant on that," Mr Bailey said.
He warned anyone who got caught breaking the rules would be dealt with.
Clutha District Council principal rural fire officer Selwyn Vigers could not be contacted yesterday, but a restricted fire season began in the area in mid-November.
Permits were needed for all open-air fires, except crop residue burn-offs, barbecues in properly constructed containers and campsite fires within concrete or stone surrounds.
