Canterbury fire district moves to a restricted fire season

7 January 2025

Fire and Emergency New Zealand is revoking the prohibited fire season put in place in the Canterbury fire district last month, which banned outdoor fires in the area.

From 8am, Wednesday 8 January, the whole district will be in a restricted fire season until further notice, from north of the Rakaia River to just south of the Clarence River.

A restricted fire season means anyone who wants to light an open-air fire will need a fire permit authorised by Fire and Emergency, which can be applied for at checkitsalright.nz.

Canterbury District Commander Dave Stackhouse says rain over the holiday period greatly reduced the chances of vegetation fires getting started or getting out of control.

"While we haven't had any large wildfires in the last three weeks, we are aware that it is still the middle of summer, which means we have kept some restrictions in place," he says.

"Even with the recent rain and cooler temperatures, this is still one of the drier parts of the country.

"Therefore, we are asking people to continue to be cautious about lighting fires, and follow the fire safety advice available at checkitsalright.nz.”