Fire fighting services in Pietermaritzburg have already dealt with 165 fires in the first nine days of September alone.

Pietermaritzburg fire operations manager Essack Khan said August was also a busy month for them, as they dealt with 220 veld fires which claimed the lives of at least five people.

"At least five people were killed in those fires and 50 percent of these cases were as a result of negligence," he said.

Most of the fires were as a result of people dropping cigarettes or neglecting to put out fires.

Khan said that many of the farms in the outlying rural areas surrounding the KwaZulu-Natal provincial capital Pietermaritzburg did not have fire breaks.

"So when there's a fire, it easily spreads onto their properties. And at informal settlements, people are using fire as an energy source and when the wind picks up it catches alight."

Hot weather and dry winds had exacerbated the spread of fires, and Khan urged people to be more alert and take more precautions.

The fire season started in May and ended in August. "This time it's different ? weather patterns have changed and we are still waiting for spring rains."

On Tuesday, Khan reported a huge forest fire near Hilton as the temperature soared to 36 degrees.

The blaze started on Monday afternoon and three fire crews from the Pietermaritzburg and Howick fire department with about 12 personnel worked throughout the night to put it out.

The fire had been contained by midday on Tuesday.

"Our staff alternated shifts and although the fire season is over, there may be more fires during the week. However, we are expecting some rain tomorrow," said Khan.

Meanwhile, local government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said the provincial cabinet would meet on Wednesday to receive a detailed assessment of the fires that had ravaged the uThungulu district two weeks ago.

The KwaZulu-Natal health department reported last week that 34 people had died in fires.