A record number of fire permits to start the restricted fire season is being put down to public awareness beginning to catch on.

Photo: file.

The six-month restricted fire season began on October 1, meaning any rural fires lit between now and April require permits and must abide by the summer rural fire rules, with fires only allowed to be lit during daylight and not in strong winds.

And so far public compliance is ablaze with more than 950 fire permits recorded for the month of October.

'It's the largest number I can find a record of. It seems to me to be extremely high but that's good public uptake and I'm happy about that,” says Western Bay Moana Rural Fire Authority principal rural fire officer Alan Pearce.

And the number of unpermitted fires, even with Guy Fawkes thrown in the mix, have been relatively low, with Alan commending the public on behaving well behaved around fireworks.

Residents looking to light open fires during the summer season must first obtain a fire permit from their local council.

Fire officers are more than happy for people to burn rubbish, but only when conditions are safe for the activity, says Alan.

'Awareness is the thing we don't want to be seen to be discouraging people from the reasonable use of fire. We also want to have a fairly good idea of what they are doing out there in the way of burning.

Alan says the majority of unpermitted fires have been shelterbelt and vegetation fires, in some cases a permitted fire getting out of hand due to weather conditions.

Alan says this is expected for a small percentage of the overall total, but warns people of the particular dangers shelterbelts can hold.

People should be aware that even though we have had a fair amount of rain shelterbelts are dry and will dry quickly. Even though it might have rained yesterday it will be dry today.”

Conditions are yet to reach the tinder dry conditions associated with summer but there is still the potential for any fire to get out of control in the coming months.

With this in mind people are urged to show some common sense and light fires only when necessary and in suitable areas.

In 2013 Western Bay Moana Rural Fire Authorities attended about 151 fires ranging from scrub, dwellings, vehicles and machinery fires – a number as a result of no permit.