The Kawerau community is staying vigilant amid high temperatures and the declaration of a restricted fire season.

Kawerau was the hottest place in the country last month with a scorching high of 34.8C.

The last time temperatures were that high was in February last year in Cheviot, Christchurch, which recorded 36.3C.

Kawerau Fire Brigade station manager Carl Moon said the community had been vigilant so far amid the high heat.

He encouraged them to “keep that up” while the forestry town remained in a restricted fire season, meaning anyone wanting to light a fire needs a permit.

Restricted fire seasons have been declared for the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Northland. Restrictions have eased in Hawke’s Bay after a bout of wet weather.

Moon said the Kawerau Fire Brigade had not attended “too many calls”.

“It’s been really, really good.”

However, the few call outs involved a vegetation fire in the pine forest on Mount Putauaki on December 19. Firefighters from Kawerau, Edgecumbe and Eastern Bay of Plenty Rotoma attended the blaze.

Moon said firefighters had to wear restrictive PPE to protect them from the heat.

Gregor Macara, climate scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), said its seasonal climate outlook until March indicated that “above-average temperatures” were likely for the North Island.

A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said higher temperatures in the area created a stronger fire risk.

People should check that fires were put out properly after being lit. More information was available on the Fenz website.

As of 9am on Friday, the Bay of Plenty region, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay were categorised as a restricted fire zone.

“Higher temperatures – especially when there has been little rain in recent weeks – increase the chances of a fire getting started and spreading out of control,“ the Fenz spokesperson said.

“If anyone is thinking about lighting a fire in these conditions, they must go to www.checkitsalright.nzto check it is safe to do so and to see what the fire restrictions are in their area.”

Kaingaroa fire chief Kenneth Austin told the Rotorua Daily Post that people needed to be “careful” this summer, especially when lighting fires outside.

He said this was “extremely important” because it posed a huge fire risk.

With ”the area we live in being surrounded by forest, the potential for a big fire is hazardous”, Austin said.

Above-average temperatures are expected for the North Island from January to March, according to Niwa.

A scrub fire at Whangārei Heads on Thursday caused the evacuation of two homes.

Niwa’s annual climate report highlighted that, of the 10 hottest years on record, eight had been recorded since 2013.

The highest December temperature was 34.8C, observed at Kawerau on December 29.

Of the six main centres in December, Auckland was the driest, Dunedin was the coolest and least sunny, and Tauranga was the warmest, wettest and sunniest.

Bay of Plenty was the third sunniest region for December, with 2734 hours of sun. Marlborough had the most sun with 2769 hours and the wider Nelson area had the second most, with 2760 hours.

• This story has been updated to correct Kenneth Austin’s position to Kaingaroa fire chief.

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.