The New Caledonian government has declared a territory-wide fire ban.
A statement by the government and its civil security agency says the ban applies for any non-domestic fires, considering the extreme risk in some places.
Photo: Supplied
The ban is in place until further notice as the authorities fear that the practice of burning back bush could spark uncontrollable fires.
Three years ago, firefighters were flown in from France when more than 60 square kilometres of vegetation went up in flames amid a sharp increase in the number of uncontrolled fires.