A bushfire in Ngunguru, Northland, last February. Photo: Supplied/Ann Austin
Fire and Emergency says people are getting complacent and ignoring safety warnings this fire season.
Hot weather is expected across the country in the coming days, with temperatures rising into the 30s.
FENZ wildfire manager Tim Mitchell said humidity with forecast gusty winds along the east coast - including Canterbury, Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay and Northland - created the "perfect conditions for elevated fire risk".
He urged people to avoid activities that could spark a wildfire, including welding, grinding, using cookers and mowing lawns.
"We're asking the public to accept that there are times when we aren't able to do these things and actually follow the advice and don't do those activities during high-risk periods.
"Obviously, it's the weekend, which is when people mow their lawns. But we need your flexibility around not undertaking high-risk activities."
Mowing was a particular problem in long, dry grass, such as ankle-height or higher grass in paddocks and on roadsides, Mitchell said.
However, mowing residential lawns could still be risky if there were hidden stones.
"People mowing their lifestyle blocks have had a stone or a piece of steel from a kid's toy or something actually start a fire."
He said even when the conditions were safe to light a fire, people still needed to be cautious.
"If you are able to undertake those activities at a safer time, you still must make sure that you watch that fire, and once you're finished with the fire, you properly extinguish that fire and don't leave it just to smoulder and burn out over the coming days. It's a real common cause of wildfires."
He said a number of areas had fire restrictions in place, where a permit would be required to light a fire.
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