There are fears the spring rain that has brought nearly 100mm of rain to the capital in the past two months could result in a curate's egg for firefighters.
Experts and those charged with reducing the bushfire threat are worried that without more rain, the green grass and undergrowth that has sprung up may cure to fuel quick grassfires.
The presence of an El Nino weather pattern is expected to bring with it a hotter, drier summer and the potential for greater bushfire danger.
Head of the ACT Bushfire Council Kevin Jeffrey said the recent rain had provided a good buffer for Canberra until Christmas, but the new growth represented danger later this summer.
''That's the way grass works, if you get a lot of grass growth now, unless we get rain closer to Christmas we're going to be in for a difficult new year,'' Mr Jeffrey said.
Mark Chifley, from MacKillop College, in Wanniassa, took a group of Year 9 students for a hike around Honeysuckle Creek in Namadgi National Park.
He said the recent rains had made the area far greener than the brown hues seen in previous years.
Neil Cooper heads the fire management unit with Parks, Conservation and Lands, charged with minimising the risk of fires.
''At this time of year the grass grows faster than we can cut it but we keep our operations continuing through the year and we catch up around Christmas.''
That task to clear growth is balanced with ecological, recreational and aesthetic interests.
He said the department's efforts would not please everybody, but were vital to protecting the city and outskirts from large-scale fires.
''Some people will be critical of that, and we'll always get the critics but I think the overall plan we have will give good coverage for the park-managed areas in the ACT.''
The fuel reduction program saw about 12,000ha cleared last financial year and that figure will jump to about 14,000 during this period.
While hazard-reduction burns play a significant role in clearing the threat, in the last financial year the practice constituted only about 6 per cent of the fuel clearing undertaken by Parks.
Herbicides, lawn mowers and even grazing cattle played a bigger role in clearing land.
Honorary research fellow with CSIRO Phil Cheney said the weather in coming months would determine whether the recent growth would fuel a dangerous season or create the much-desired washout.
Mr Cheney said while there was a chance of sweeping grassfires, the wet weather might have already reduced the risk of significant forest fires.
''In those years [when grassfires are prevalent] you don't typically have much of a problem with forest fires because they tend to retain moisture,'' he said.
But he said authorities should begin to factor in the regrowth from areas devastated by the 2003 Canberra bushfires.
Mr Cooper said Parks, Conservation and Lands had 700 sites, primarily in Namadgi, to assess fuel loads.
He said those indicators were showing that the area was on track to meet the current year's bushfire operation plan to reduce the danger of excess fuel.
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