Fire and Emergency are preparing for what could be a busy week with hot and dry temperatures forecast.
Scrub fire at Pumpkin Hill in the Coromandel. Photo: Coromandel CFM
It follows two large scrub fires at Christchurch's Port Hills and at Pumpkin Hill in the Coromandel Peninsula this weekend.
Both fires are now under control, but wildfire specialist Graeme Still, says conditions are very dry at the moment, with hot weather expected in many parts of the country over the next few days.
He says despite the green pastures, the soil underneath is full of dead and dry material which can fuel fires.
"It's sort of called a green drought and those fuels are readily available to burn, especially when we've had some reasonably strong winds and that's what's predominately pushing our fires at the moment."
Still said getting long range forecasts would help people in these areas immensly.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) is expecting the next seven to 10 days to produce hot and dry conditions for much of the country.
Principal scientist and forecaster Chris Brandolino said the soil was drier than normal in Northland, Coromandel, Auckland, Canterbury, Otago, Tasman and eastern Southland.
However, he said it was unlikely that this week's dry period would be a permanent feature of the summer.
Brandolino said above normal or near normal rainfall was expected for the upper South Island the North Island, but for the rest of the country, rainfall could fall below normal levels.
