The weather has recently been hot and dry. This is great news so we can start to get outdoors, but there's a flip side: high fire risk. What can you do to help?

Wild fires are catastrophic for wildlife, flora and importantly the peat itself which not only provides unique habitat but also important carbon and water storage.

Ground nesting birds, many of which are already suffering a decline in numbers, will be unable to move eggs and young to avoid the flames. Homes and businesses can be affected. The already meagre resources of the fire service, National Park Authorities, conservation bodies and landowners will be stretched. Not to mention that from a purely selfish perspective, walking across post-apocalyptic swathes of fire affected moorland after the event is pretty depressing.

You can help!

Moorland fires are clearly something we all want to avoid, but what can we do as walkers and climbers out and about in these areas to help prevent further fires?

• Report any fire you see immediately by calling 999 and giving your location. 2pm-8pm is a particularly high risk time of day and acting quickly can make a big difference to the chances of getting any fire rapidly under control.
   
• Unfortunately malicious damage is occasionally the cause of moorland fires, so report suspicious activity you see to the emergency services whilst out on the hills and moors.
   
• Respect any ‘high fire risk’ warning signs placed by National Park or Local Authorities – they are only placed where there is very high risk due to very dry conditions.
   
• Leave stoves, disposable bbqs or anything else with an open flame at home as a small mistake in their use could have catastrophic consequences.
   
• No smoking in any areas of high fire risk (notified by warning signs at access points).
   
• Dispose of litter, particularly glass, responsibly. Take everything you bring away with you.
   
• Be aware of updated wildfire advice promoted by organisations such as the Peak District National Park Wildfires page.
   

How do I find out about fire closures?

If the Fire Severity Index (FSI) reaches level 5 (exceptional risk), access closures to some open access land will come into effect. 

Any closures to open access land will be widely publicised in a number of ways:

• In England on Natural England’s website (find the area you are interested in using the search and scroll to the table at the bottom of the page to check for any restrictions.)
• In Wales on Natural Resources Wales website
• National Park Authority websites such as the Peak District National Park Authority
• National Park Authority social media such as Peak District National Park twitter

DOWNLOAD: the BMC RAD app

Get all the info on crags with the RAD (Regional Access Database) app from the BMC! Available now for Android and iOS, it's free and comes with a host of new features like navigation and parking, weather and tidal updates, and of course information on restrictions or notes on access advice. Get it here now!

DOWNLOAD: The RAD app for Android

DOWNLOAD: The RAD app for iOS

RAD is community led and your comments help keep it up to date so don’t be afraid to add any relevant information after a crag visit which might be useful for other visitors – anything from conditions on the crag, favourite routes or reports of rockfall/other recent changes to the crag are all useful for other climbers visiting.

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