A burn-off at Waitepeka on Monday has prompted a warning from the Clutha District Council to remain vigilant when lighting fires outdoors.
Over the past week, rural firefighters attended two vegetation fires - one which was confirmed to be a flared up burn-off.
Principal Rural Fire Officer Neville Hills said that in the most recent incident on Monday, a small burn-off - which appeared to be out in the morning - flared up in the afternoon on a property near Waitepeka.
The fire took hold of hay bales and trees, before urban and rural fire crews arrived to prevent it spreading to nearby farm houses on the property.
Mr Hills said it had been a particularly mild and dry winter, which meant the fire risk was higher than normal for the time of year. Burn-offs had the potential to flare up and spread quickly in the right conditions.
Many creeks, a source of water for fighting rural fires, were also running lower than usual for this time of year, which made the job of firefighting more difficult when a fire got out of control.
An open fire season has been in place in the Clutha district since May 1, which means permits are generally not required for fires in the open.
Exceptions are areas within 1km of Ernslaw One Forest (Southern Rural Fire District) and Department of Conservation land, and within 500m of Wenita and City Forest plantations.
Permits to burn in these fire safety margins are still required and should be obtained from the rural fire authority. However, Mr Hills said the open fire season did not mean people should be any less vigilant when lighting fires.
''It is still the responsibility of the person lighting a fire to ensure it doesn't spread or cause a nuisance to neighbouring properties,'' he said.
The council had the option of seeking costs if a fire got out of control, even if it was allowed.
Mr Hills said further advice was available from the Clutha District Council's office, its service centres in Lawrence, Milton and Tapanui, or online at www.cluthadc.govt.nz.
