The Bay of Plenty fire district, including South Waikato, has moved to a prohibited fire season.
The prohibited fire season came into effect at 8am today.
This means everyone in the Bay of Plenty can no longer light an open-air fire. All fire permits previously granted will be suspended and new permits will not be issued while the ban is in place.
Bay of Plenty District Manager, Jeff Maunder said the change would help prevent a large wildfire in the district.
"The current climate conditions have driven the total fire ban as the indicators have hit our pre-determined fire plan triggers for a restricted fire season.