Firefighters in North Canterbury are on high alert after 10 suspicious grass fires near Rangiora on Sunday afternoon.
Police are concerned that an arsonist started the fires, which flared up between 4.30pm and 6pm along a 10km stretch of the Ashley River, and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
They would particularly like to hear from two dark-haired women who were seen driving a late-model bronze Ford Laser car in the area at the time of the fires.
Volunteers say it's fortunate the fires were spotted because they could have caused significant damage in the dry conditions. It took 30 volunteers from three brigades to put them out.
Sergeant Colin Stewart says he believes the fires are definitely linked, though there is nothing to suggest a connection with two blazes in Rangiora early on Sunday. A couch in High St and a clothing bin in nearby Blake St were set on fire.
