The Bay of Plenty is moving to a restricted fire season from 6am tomorrow, Thursday, February 15, until further notice.

A restricted season means no open-air fires can be legally lit unless a fire permit has been applied for and approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

The restricted fire season covers the Fire and Emergency Bay of Plenty region which includes Tokoroa, Rotorua, Central Lakes, North Central and South Plateau, Urewera, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga and Kawerau, as well as Tongariro and Taupō in South Waikato.

Declaring the change of fire season, District Manager Jeff Maunder says there has been very little rainfall across most of the Bay of Plenty in the past two weeks which has dried out grass and vegetation significantly and increased the fire risk.

"There is also little rain forecast for the next few weeks, so vegetation and grass will continue to dry out, further increasing the fire danger," says Jeff.

Map showing the restricted fire season area for the Fire and Emergency Bay of Plenty region which includes Tokoroa, Rotorua, Central Lakes, North Central and South Plateau, Urewera, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Tauranga and Kawerau, as well as Tongariro and Taupō in South Waikato. Image: FENZ.

Jeff says this means vegetation fires will start more easily, spread more rapidly and be more difficult to control.

"We have the largest block of commercial forestry in New Zealand - over half a million hectares -  in the Bay of Plenty plus a million hectares of Department of Conservation land.

"Many of these forestry areas are surrounded by ungrazed grass and scrublands which can transfer fires rapidly to forested areas."

Jeff says the vegetation fire on Matakana Island in December and January showed just how rapidly a fire can spread, even in less dry conditions than we have now.

"Our primary focus is on protecting people and property and a restricted fire season enables outdoor fires to be managed more closely through the permit system," says Jeff.

"We ask anyone considering lighting a fire to please visit www.checkitsalright.nz This tool enables you to check what fire season your area is in, provides safety tips if you are able to light a fire, and access to apply for a fire permit."