Canterbury residents are being urged to check old burn piles ahead of strong winds forecast for Labour Day, following a vegetation fire at Christchurch’s Bottle Lake Forest on Thursday night.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said a warm, dry week would be followed by strong north-westerly winds across Canterbury at times on Monday.

FENZ urged anyone who had recently burned a pile of vegetation to physically check it was fully extinguished, warning embers could smoulder beneath the surface for days or even weeks.

“When the wind picks up, they can reignite, spread embers, and spark a much larger fire.”

The warning comes after a blaze near Bottle Lake Forest’s seaside edge, which FENZ said may have started on the beach before spreading into scrub.

Shift manager Lyn Crossan said emergency services received several calls about the fire around 8.30pm on Thursday.

Three fire trucks, two water tankers and a rural firefighting pump were deployed.

Crossan said the fire had a perimeter of approximately 200 metres. Firefighters contained the blaze and no buildings were threatened.

Fire and Emergency said that by about 11.30pm Thursday the fire had been “suppressed” and the hotspots had been “mopped up”.

The incident follows concerns raised with Christchurch city councillors in August about the challenges of tackling fires in areas such as Bottle Lake Forest and Godley Head.

Fire and Emergency Canterbury district commander Dave Stackhouse said Bottle Lake had an evacuation plan, but heavy vegetation and Canterbury’s wind conditions could make a fire difficult to contain.

Civil Defence manager Brenden Winder told councillors the city should consider restricting access to vulnerable areas during periods of heightened fire risk.

“I think it is something we need to mature into as a council to consider how we would close access to areas where people are at risk of escaping a fire.”

Winder said any restrictions would require careful planning and clear communication with the public.

He said the council had also strengthened firefighting water supplies on the Port Hills, including installing seven new 30,000-litre tanks and improving 12 dipping ponds, adding an estimated 1.9 million litres of water.

Fire and Emergency urged people to visit checkitsalright.nz before lighting any fire.