Fire authorities in the Gisborne region are keeping a restricted fire season in place despite the more than 300mm of rain last weekend.
Principal rural fire officer Rene Londeman says long-range forecasts from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) are for drier weather for the next couple of months, with below average rainfall.
He says if the restricted season was removed, it would only have to be put it in place again at significant cost later, should the predicted dry weather eventuate.
