A wetter than expected summer has given Canberra's firefighters less work than usual as the number of bush and grass blazes fell by a quarter from last year.
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And it was not only fires causing less trouble, with the territory's fire agencies also receiving 500 less general service calls.
ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Andrew Stark said higher than average rain in December and January ended any fears of a vicious fire season.
"The forecast that the Bureau [of Meteorology] gave was really high temperatures and low rainfall, and that was accurate to the second week of December," he said.
December's 102 millimetres of rain at Canberra Airport was double the monthly average, and January's result was 39 millimetres above average.
The extreme summer heat has been avoided, with January 2 the last day Canberra recorded 35 degrees or higher.
There were 116 landscape fires attended by either ACT Rural Fire Service or the metro Fire Rescue since October 1, down from 159 over the equivalent six months to March 31, 2014. A reduction in rural fires was the main cause of the overall drop in fire incidents, down to 463 across the period so far, 36 fewer than last year.
Mr Stark said the important conclusion was reduced damage from fires for the second year in a row.
"Critically over the last couple of years both the RFS and Fire & Rescue response to fires has been efficient and there's been neglible impact on the community and the environment," he said.
"That's what we're meant to do – our mitigation strategies and our engagement with the community about the things they can do to make sure fires don't start, by being careful and how they manage power and don't slash paddocks or mow on days they could start a fire, for example."
The two fire services have attended 5031 fires, other emergencies and incidents to March 20, more than 500 fewerthan last year and the lowest figure for at least four years.
And while the official fire period ends on March 31, Mr Stark warned Canberrans not to be complacent, with only 4millimetres of rain falling in the capital so far this month.
"There's the potential for fairly dry conditions over next four to six weeks, so the community should still be vigilant," he said.
