Fire and Emergency New Zealand has eased the restrictions on open air fires in Taranaki from 8am on Wednesday 2 April, until further notice.

The district has moved to an open fire season, which means permits are no longer needed to light outdoor fires.

District Manager David Utumapu says if people are thinking about lighting fires, they should continue to check the fire restrictions for their location by visiting checkitsalright.nz.

"I’d like to thank everyone who did the right thing over the summer, and applied for permits before lighting their fires," he says.

"Knowing where permitted fires were, we could focus our efforts elsewhere, to protect Taranaki’s people, property, environment and wildlife from fire.

"We encourage people to always go to checkitsalright.nz before lighting a fire."

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