ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Andrew Stark said high rainfall during winter meant a lot of grass had grown throughout the capital creating the potential for grass fires.

He said the service was expecting this fire season to be busier than the past two, but forest areas, including the Brindabella Ranges bushland, were quite damp with plenty of water in the creeks and streams, so challenging forest fires were unlikely.

"We're having a lot of grass growth, and it's all very green at the moment but if as summer heats up we don't have any follow-up rain that will kill off," he said.

"When [the grass] becomes brown and dry that becomes quite dangerous, so there's a real potential for the grass fires, particularly after Christmas, in that late January period."

Mr Stark said one firebombing helicopter would be brought into Canberra at the start of December and another at the end of that month. Both would be on standby in case of an emergency.

The Department of Territory and Municipal Services was also mowing grass in public areas throughout the summer for the fire service as part of its fire-prevention strategy.

"This is the third summer now that we've facing these conditions, so I think TAMS has got a very established mowing program and we target particular areas as a part of the change through the year," he said.

Mr Stark said the fire risk would depend on the ACT's rainfall over the coming months.

"It's hard to crystal ball [gaze] because if we continue to have regular rain and the grass stays fairly green it'll be pretty similar to the last two years, but if the grass dries out there's greater potential for fires," he said.

Yesterday the ACT Rural Fire Service marked the start of its bushfire awareness week with an open day at its helicopter base at Hume. Along with firefighting demonstrations, face painting, carnival rides and food stalls, the open day was a reminder to visitors of the potential dangers they faced during bushfire season and provided information on protection from fires.

Mr Stark said Canberrans should clear their roof gutters and potential fuel around their homes and make a household plan outlining what they would do if there was a fire.

"We have a bushfire survival plan that they can download off the ESA website, and that plan steps them through the decisions they can make as a family or a household, around where they work or where they live or where they travel on the weekends, to know what to do if a fire starts," he said.