By policy officer, Daryl McLaughlin
The Natural Hazards Partnership have issued an AMBER wildfire warning for the coming days, given the recent dry weather and periods of strengthening winds. There have been several recent wildfires in the Mourne’s recently.
With the affects of the pandemic still being felt, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) is urging members of the public not to start any wildfires as this is putting huge pressure on emergency services.
Wildfires are illegal – unless carefully planned and strictly controlled.
- Deliberate setting of wildfires is a criminal offence.
What are wildfires?
- Wildfires are unplanned or uncontrolled fires in the countryside or open areas in towns and cities. They often spread quickly through plants that are dry and easy to burn such as gorse and heather.
- Wildfires can get out of control quickly, spread rapidly, change direction and are extremely dangerous.
- Fire can be used as a management tool by landowners if carefully planned, tightly managed, in the right conditions and at the right time of year (1 September to 14 April). These are not wildfires – unless they get out of control.
Wildfires are not ‘natural’ fires
- They are almost always started by humans – sometimes deliberately. This is called arson.
- Sometimes caused by people being careless – for example cigarettes, campfires or barbeques.
Wildfires put lives at risk – directly or indirectly. They could result in tragedy.
- Those in the line of the fire are at risk, including those setting the fire, walking or camping and local residents.
- They endanger the firefighters who tackle them.
- They deprive communities of quick access to emergency services which may be essential for house fires or road traffic collisions where every second could make the difference between life and death.
Wildfires cost everyone – the whole community as well as businesses that provide much needed employment.
- They require special equipment and a lot of people to fight them.
- They can make public timber supplies useless.
- They can increase the treatment costs for drinking water.
- Farmers may lose livestock or grazing lands.
- Fires and their blackened remains can put visitors off visiting some of our most popular places and in turn damage local businesses.
Wildfires destroy our surroundings – how they look and the wildlife in them.
- Nests and the young of birds that nest on the ground are destroyed.
- Mammals such as red squirrel lose their forest homes.
- Small animals like the common lizard are killed.
- Landscapes are less attractive until they recover.
- They damage peatland that is important as a carbon store to combat climate change.
- The countryside is less enjoyable for people to visit.
