Queenstown Lakes District Council principal rural fire officer Gordon Bailey said fire risk was extreme in Wanaka and very high in Wakatipu.
"It's slightly drier in Wanaka so caution is required.
We had a little bit of rain in Queenstown over the weekend, but it has dried up again and we are back to square one," he said.
Warm temperatures and wind are forecast for the next week so people need to be aware of the fire risk.
The Queenstown Lakes district is in a restricted fire season, but the council and Department of Conservation is considering raising the restriction to a prohibited fire season.
Doc rural fire officer Jamie Cowan said tourists blatantly flouted the restrictions when they lit a campfire at the 12 Mile Delta camping ground between Glenorchy and Queenstown on Thursday night.
They had been told not to light fires, had passed two signs warning of the restricted fire season but still lit a fire under some pine trees, he said.
"They were just being ignorant and decided to have a romantic camp fire despite the risk," he said.
A member of the public made a 111 call and a helicopter and two fire appliances were dispatched to the camping ground to put out the fire.
"The camping ground is part of what we call the red zone, so it generates a different response.
"It was in a very dangerous spot and it was very lucky it didn't get out of hand," he said.
The tourists were unlikely to face charges, he said.
Central Otago principal rural fire officer Owen Burgess said Central Otago had been under a prohibited fire season since November.
Restrictions would last until the end of April, he said.
Alexandra had had only 3.4mm of rain since December 21.
"The fire risk is still very high.
The public has been pretty good at complying with the rules.
The two big fires we had at Roxburgh and Flat Top Hill made people more aware how dangerous fire is," he said. Fire destroyed 40ha and one house in Roxburgh on January 1 and 20ha of the Flat Top Hill Conservation Area was burned on December 28.
Mr Burgess said prohibited fire season included a total ban on any type of fire in the open.
"A prohibited fire season is enforced during times of high risk to protect life and property.
"No applications for fire permits are accepted and all current fire permits are cancelled.
"All fires except gas barbecues are prohibited," he said.
He encouraged property owners to create a safety zone around buildings by keeping grass as short as possible, cleaning gutters, trimming overhanging trees and stacking firewood well away from the house.
Gardeners also needed to be very careful with mowers.
"When blades hit rocks, sparks can start fires very easily when conditions are dry.
"The best time to mow is when the grass is damp or green," he said.
Queenstown weather recorder David Crow said Queenstown had recorded only 13.7mm in two days of rain this month.
