Wild fire warning from the CLA

Wild fire

In view of the Saddleworth Moor fire, the CLA is calling on the public to take extra care in the countryside due to the increased fire risk, especially on hillsides, moors and heathland as warm, dry, and settled conditions have elevated wild fire conditions across large swathes of the country.

Wild fires have the capability to devastate farmland, wildlife and also pose a risk to the lives of people living and working in rural and adjacent communities. Reducing the risk of wild fires is key at this time of the year, and raising awareness is one way in which the risk can be reduced.

Wild fires can be prevented by not discarding cigarettes or other smoldering material. The same can be said for litter as quite often bottles and shards of glass can spark a fire.

Some CLA members have highlighted the increased fire risk associated with disposable barbeques that are used in the countryside, urging the visiting public not to barbeque in rural areas. Barbeques should only take place in sheltered areas well away from combustible material, and properly extinguished afterwards.

The CLA has also long called for the ban on sky lanterns as these pose a serious risk of fire, especially in the countryside. At present the government is unwilling to introduce a ban as they do not consider the dangers significant enough, despite animal deaths and fires as a result of sky lanterns. Around 50 local authorities have imposed bans on the use of these.

CLA Director North, Dorothy Fairburn, said: “We have witnessed the devastating impacts of the fire at Saddleworth Moor, both on communities in the area, as well as scarring the landscape and destroying wildlife, and we appeal to the public to be extra vigilant when out and about in the countryside.”

In case of a fire, the public is advised not to try and tackle the fire themselves, and to alert the emergency services on the 999 number, stating as accurately as possible, the location of such a fire.