Oscar Francis

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) is urging "extreme care" as only the quick actions of volunteer firefighters stopped an accidental fire doing significant damage in a Queenstown suburb.

Quick-responding crews did "very, very well" to control a scrub fire threatening a house in Queenstown.

Southerners and tourists are being warned out-of-control wildfires could devastate the region, with fire restrictions ramping-up in response to forecasts of hot, dry weather.