How to prevent wildfires - the BMC's blueprint for the nation
Wildfires are destroying landscapes up and down the UK. Here's what the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is doing to prevent wildfires in the Peak District and beyond.
Acres and acres of moorland, farmland and woodland are on fire right now across the UK, killing nature, destroying livelihoods and polluting our air with smoke.
But the Sheffield Moors area of the Peak District has been protected from the worst fires.
Why?
A wildfire Engagement Officer has been funded by the BMC’s charity, the Access and Conservation Trust, since April this year, and his work is having a massive impact, providing huge support to the teams already involved with wildfire prevention.
Damian patrols and educates visitors to this area with a team of volunteers from the local community. He also collaborates with local authorities and land management organisations to educate visitors and enforce wildfire protection measures by law.
Damian says, "My role supports the work that the Eastern Moors Partnership and Peak District National Park Authority have already been doing in this area for years, I'm able to build on very solid, existing foundations."
The Wildfire Engagement Officer role is made possible due to a collaboration between the BMC Access & Conservation Trust, Moors for the Future Partnership (MFFP), Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) and Eastern Moors Partnership (EMP).
Funding wildfire prevention
Over 352 volunteer hours have been worked by 61 volunteers over 34 four-hour sessions at peak times in high-risk locations, sharing key wildfire messaging with an estimated 10,000 visitors to the Sheffield Moors area of the Peak District.
Damian, Peak District and Eastern Moors Partnership rangers and team of volunteers from the local community have prevented at least 130 fires (campfires, BBQs and other open flames) so far this season. They also remove the cold, charred remains of fires so as not to encourage more in the area.
Damian says, "Even a small number of volunteers can have a huge impact, for example, during a four-hour volunteer session on Saturday 1 Aug, myself and three volunteers chatted to and educated 130 people about wildfires at the beautiful, popular walking and climbing areas of Stanage Edge and North Lees."
Only one meeting this season has required Damian to call for police intervention due to aggressive non-compliance. However, Damian says, "I would emphasise that 99% of people that they meet are very receptive to wildfire information and are very positive about preventing fires and sharing the info with their friends and family."
The BMC Access & Conservation Trust have also secured funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to support temporary, moveable LED roadsigns and drone activity in wildfire prevention. Damian says, "The temporary road signs are a highly effective way to advise people of the ban on naked flames as they enter the National Park. Using thermal-imaging drones has become a hugely efficient way for us to spot campfires or BBQs before it’s too late. We can use the drone's speaker to communicate with the visitors while a team drives to the nearest road to meet them for a positive, educational chat."
Prohibiting fires by law
Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) coverage around prohibiting open flames within the Peak District was not homogenous throughout the National Park, so Damian is currently reaching out to all local authorities to create them. Fines of up to £1,000 apply under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014. For example, the Derbyshire Dales PSPO prohibits:
- The lighting of fires
- The lighting or use of barbecues and other devices using an open flame
- The discarding of lighted matches and other things likely to cause fire (eg. fireworks)
Damian says, "As a team we have also erected widespread signage about the PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) information at key locations across the Derbyshire Dales area to advise people that lighting fires is prohibited by law in these areas - Dennis Knoll, Hollin Bank, Hook's Car, Bole Hill, Froggatt Edge, Baslow Edge."
Collaborating on regional wildfire strategy
Wildfire Engagement Officer Damian has been collaborating with local authorities and land management organisations within the Peak District National Park to create an overarching wildfire prevention group. Damian says, "This new group is a concept born out of the awareness that the Peak District's wildfire risk is escalating - organisations need to come together collaboratively not just in response but also in prevention. We now need to focus on working in partnership towards public education and enforcement through PSPOs to prevent wildfires."
Damian will hold an operational debrief at the end of the season to gather the learning from everyone involved with wildfire engagement, staff and volunteers, and bring the findings together. He says, "The aim of the wildfire prevention group is to share best practice and resources to prevent wildfires over a wider area in 2027 and beyond."
Sharing wildfire strategy nationwide
Damian has been sharing our collaborative, preventative approach to wildfire prevention nationwide via media interviews on local and national TV, radio and magazines. This November he has been selected to present a poster at the Wildfire Conference in Leeds. He says, "The review panel agreed that collaborative wildfire prevention was an interesting and important area of research that they would like to have represented at the conference."
Due to Damian's research, the BMC team have also been using part of the grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to share wildfire prevention messaging far and wide on social media, aiming to reach audiences outside of our usual sphere.
He says, "I've had hundreds of conversations with people about fire this season. Many that we come across who are planning to light a fire, or actually sitting in front of one when we meet them, say they have been influenced by posts on TikTok and other social media platforms."
In the future, the BMC Access & Conservation Trust would like to raise further funds to connect with social media users who promote fires in the outdoors, educate them and encourage them towards promoting safe practices.
BMC Access & Conservation Trust comms and fundraising officer, Claire Maxted, says, "Comments on BMC social media posts around wildfire have revealed that many people know the dangers of a fire in tinder dry moorland or woodland but think they know how to keep it under control; that their fire won't become a wildfire. With our targeted social media adverts we aim to reach out and educate this demographic.
"Comments also reveal that the word wildfire can be misleading. The climate in the UK is not so severe (yet) as to start fires naturally, so wildfires here are always human-caused. The word 'wild' refers to the location of the fire in a natural landscape, rather than the way in which it was created. People commenting express confusion over this, so the use of the phrase, 'human-caused wildfire' maybe a useful addition to nationwide media coverage."
Preventing wildfires: the solution?
Head of Access & Environment Dr. Cath Flitcroft says, "Overall, Damian’s employment as Wildfire Engagement Officer in the Sheffield Moors area has proven that a collaborative, preventative approach is hugely powerful in the fight against wildfires which should be adopted nationwide to prevent loss of nature, livelihood and lives."
The BMC Access & Conservation Trust aims to raise further funds to extend Damian's role into 2027 and beyond, share our collaborative, preventative model with National Parks nationwide, purchase more drones to help patrol and stop fires and amplify wildfire prevention education on social media.
Please donate now to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust now if you want to fund direct, efficient and high-impact action to protect the Peak District, the National Parks and the UK's most beautiful places from wildfire.
Help prevent wildfires with the BMC
With the BMC you can provide even more support to this cause by joining, volunteering, fundraising and donating.
Read our Wildfire - high risk information page here.
Join the BMC’s Get Stuck In volunteer programme to plant sphagnum moss in the Peak District with Moors for the Future Partnership, helping to rehabilitate and rewet the landscape. Click here.
Donate to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust to fund our current Wildfire Appeal, part of The Climate Project. We have funded a Wildfire Engagement Officer already, but we also need to provide the team with fire-detection drones, educational signage and rehabilitate the damaged moorland. Donate here.
Join Wildfire Engagement Officer Damian's volunteer patrol groups in the Peak District, send an email FAO Damian here.
Become a BMC member. Your support protects access to crags and mountains and helps landscape conservation work like this. Join here.
If you'd like to make a lasting impact on the landscape long after you've left this world, please consider leaving us a legacy.
Thank you for your support of the BMC and the BMC Access & Conservation Trust. Together we can safeguard the UK’s stunning hills and mountains for all to enjoy and protect them from wildfire for future generations.
Protect the Sheffield Moors from Wildfire
Help us raise £50,000 this year to protect the Sheffield Moors from Wildfire - 81.2 hectares (114 football pitches!) of this beautiful moorland, including the popular walking and climbing areas of Stanage, Burbage, Froggatt and Curbar Edges, has been lost to wildfire since 2018.
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