Fire and Emergency New Zealand is warning Canterbury landowners they could face prosecution after a series of avoidable vegetation fires stretched firefighters to their limits last weekend.

The warning comes after 11 unattended burn piles escaped in severe nor westerly winds on Saturday, forcing almost every fire brigade across Canterbury to respond.

Canterbury District Commander Dave Stackhouse said Fire and Emergency staff were now visiting the properties involved to ensure landowners understood their responsibilities when carrying out land management burns.

“I am very disappointed at the number of fires that had been left unattended,” Stackhouse said.

“If it hadn’t rained later on Saturday, we would have been calling on brigades from other districts to assist.”

He said the district’s firefighters were stretched to levels normally seen only during the height of summer, with volunteer firefighters called away from their families and weekend activities to deal with fires that were largely preventable.

Stackhouse said the strong winds had been well forecast and should not have caught anyone by surprise.

Although Canterbury is currently in an open fire season and permits are not required for outdoor fires, landowners remain legally responsible for any fires they light.

The same responsibility also applies to forestry managers.

Under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, allowing a fire to escape and spread to vegetation or property is an offence. Individuals can face fines of up to $300,000 and imprisonment for up to two years.

“The message is very simple. If you light a fire, you are responsible for it,” Stackhouse said.

While Fire and Emergency preferred to educate rather than prosecute, Stackhouse said at least one of Saturday’s fires occurred on a property where an escaped land management fire had also happened within the past year.

He urged people never to leave fires unattended and to ensure they were fully extinguished rather than left smouldering.

Anyone who has lit a fire should also check for hotspots when strong winds are forecast, as they can reignite.

Fire and Emergency said Canterbury’s vegetation was already unusually dry for this time of year, with forecasts pointing to a very high wildfire risk through spring and summer because of the predicted El Nino weather pattern.