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This is a statement that has been issued by the England & Wales Wildfire Forum, this afternoon. This is in response to a continuing elevated wildfire risk, many reports of wildfire incidents and follows a conference call with wildfire stakeholders hosted by Defra, last Friday COVID-19 Wildfire Risk Help the emergency services: avoid starting wildfires. When the weather is dry and warm the risk of wildfire increases and it only takes a moment of carelessness to start a fire. Now, more than ever, we all need to play our part and make sure we do not add to the strain on our emergency services. Fires that take place in remote, rural areas, make the news but vegetation fires in towns and cities, and on the edge of urban areas, are common and pose a real threat to life and property. In the countryside, during the current COVID-19 restrictions, there are fewer people on hand to spot fires and to tackle them. The clear message from government remains for everyone to s...

The EWWF has published the following statement, a s a result of the concerns about wildfire, in all parts of the UK, not just on moorland, while the Fire & Rescue Services are struggling to meet their commitments with reduced numbers of personnel during the COVID-19 outbreak. Getting the burning done is important, but other things may be even more important right now. Prescribed Burning Advice – March and April 2020 The current warm and dry weather conditions are increasing the risk of wildfires across England and Wales. Several wildfire incidents occurred at the weekend and all of the ignitions were caused by people. Like every section of society, the Fire & Rescue Services as well as other emergency services and community responders are currently stretched due to the COVID-19 national emergency, and they cannot guarantee to be able to provide the normal level of support for all wildfires. Therefore, everyone needs to be particularly careful to not start ...

I am giving this presentation on 8th October in Seil Island Hall, to the south of Oban.  Although not exactly on a main thoroughfare (you have to cross the 'Bridge over the Atlantic' to get onto the island), the meeting promises to be well attended. I have borrowed the title from the  UK Wildfire Conference  that is taking place in Cardiff, 20th-21st November.  Many of the points I will be making will be a rehearsal for the discussion I expect to take place during the conference, but I suspect that with 'wildfire' and 'muirburn' sharing the title, there will be no shortage of discussion. For tickets, please contact the Talks Convenor at  LNHG .

The wildfire threat is not recognised in all quarters.     I made this point as part of a presentation at an All-Party Parliamentary Group meeting organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust in Westminster on Tuesday. As chairman of the England & Wales Wildfire Form, I had been asked to give the presentation to highlight the approach to wildfire being promoted by the Forum, following the wildfires of 2018.  Other speakers at the meeting were Professor Rob Marrs (University of Liverpool, President of The Heather Trust) and Clifton Bain (Director of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme).  Despite our varied backgrounds and interests, there was a high degree of unanimity amongst the speakers. I was grateful for the support of EWWF members at the meeting, which included the chairman of the Scottish Wildfire Forum, two Wildfire Tactical Advisors and a representative of the Forestry Commission. I mentioned that wildfire should be seen...

As Chairman of the England & Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) I have written to The Home Office and Defra to offer the support of the members of the Forum to review the state of preparedness and planning for wildfire.  From early reports coming from the well-publicised fires on Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill in the South Pennines, I understand that the firefighting effort required to control the fires would have been much reduced if some precautions against wildfire had been in place.  The need to plan for wildfire is thrust of the EWWF's message, which has support from The Heather Trust and the rest of the wildfire community.  We should not be surprised by wildfire; we should accept that it will happen and plan accordingly. It is not just in UK that major wildfire incidents have been occurring.  The BBC News  summary provides a useful overview of the international situation and the horror of what has been happening in Greece, which has resulted in the ...

The England & Wales Wildfire Forum met in Wrexham today, and it was valuable that the Scottish Wildfire Forum was represented at the meeting by the chairman, Bruce Farquharson from Scottish Fire & Rescue Service. This helped to support my view that wildfire requires a UK-wide approach, and the developing interest from Northern Ireland in the work of both Forums is also very welcome. We covered a lot of ground during the meeting, including the confirmation that the next UK wildfire conference will be held in South Wales in November 2019. The South Wales Fire & Rescue Service has agreed to host the conference and the theme will be based on management for wildfire. In an effort to reach a wider audience, consideration will be given to organising some local / regional events in advance to provide a connection to people who might not want to attend the conference. We agreed that it is too early in this late spring to be turning our backs on wildfire for the year,...

You may think it is cold and wet where you are, and that this winter is never going to end, but at this time of year the vegetation is at its driest and it only takes a day or two of dry weather to push the wildfire risk to a dangerous level. Significant wildfires have already occurred this year in southern England, Wales and Scotland.  The latest incident dealt with by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service occurred in Sutherland yesterday. Indications are that the short burst of hot dry weather that is occurring this week, will raise the wildfire threat in parts of the country, particularly in north and east Scotland.  There is no scope for complacency about wildfire at any time of the year, but at this time of year vigilance is required to avoid serious incidents.  It is not 'if' a wildfire happens in your area, it is 'when', and we should be planning accordingly. I will be chairing the meeting of the England & Wales Wildfire Forum in Wrexham, nex...

Another day, another wildfire meeting.  Yesterday, I was in Northern Ireland as part of an international cast advising Northern Ireland wildfire stakeholders, led by the NI Environment Agency and NI Fire & Rescue Service, about the development of a wildfire strategy.  The other members of the  cast were: Ciaran Nugent, Forest Service (Ireland) Michael Bruce, Firebreak Services and the Scottish Wildfire Forum Chuck Bushey, International Association of Wildland Fire (USA), Colum McDaid - organiser (Northern Ireland Environment Agency) Rob Gazzard, Forestry Commission England Jordi Vendrell, Pau Costa Foundation (Catalonia) Alex Held, European Forest Institute (Germany) The meeting took the form of a workshop with group working by the 47 delegates to assess the best approach to adopt in Northern Ireland to develop a wildfire strategy.  It was pleasing to note that there was a high degree of consensus.  The establishment of a mechanism (a wildfir...

As Chairman of the England & Wales Wildfire Forum, I was pleased to give a presentation, representing The Heather Trust, at the South and West Wales Wildfire workshop that took place today at the HQ of South Wales Fire & Rescue Service (SWFRS), at Llantrisant to the north of Cardiff. I had the last slot of the day and gave a presentation that covered the ‘The Role of a Wildfire Forum’. I had watched many of the points I wanted to make being covered in the earlier presentations, but this provided me with an opportunity to build on what others had said. I think that a key role for the wildfire forum is to promote the 'power of partnership' - to develop a consensus amongst the broad range of stakeholders that are engaged in wildfire or that are likely to be affected by it.  I also believe that the wildfire community should work together across the UK, as this will give the message about wildfire the greatest impact. The most important message about wildfire ...