See the threat level where you live or in areas you plan to visit on holiday using our interactive map
Wark Forest Wildfire(Image: Copyright Unknown)
Part of the North East has been ranked among the top 10 areas most at risk of wildfires across the country. Now our map shows the level of risk in your area.
This week, the Environment Agency declared that half of England was in drought due to soaring temperatures and very low rainfall. Water Minister Emma Hardy has warned people to prepare for this “new normal” wrought by climate change, as rivers run low, millions are placed under hosepipe bans – and wildfire risk increases.
Firefighters have been battling intense blazes around the UK this summer, including at Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, Dovestone in Greater Manchester, Tintwistle Moor in Derbyshire, and Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. Meanwhile, in Europe, a national emergency was declared in Spain as several wildfires merged into a single, uncontrolled front, and homes were evacuated in France.
Now, as global warming increases the risk of wildfires, we’ve used data from the Moorland Association to produce a map revealing the threat across the country. The Moorland Association has used open-source data and expert analysis to assess the threat in each parliamentary constituency, using 10 indicators across three risk domains.
It shows that the High Peak constituency in Derbyshire – where the major moorland fire at Tintwistle Moor has been raging – is the area at greatest risk. Fire crews were first called to Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, on June 24, and a major incident was declared there on July 13.
Hexham, Northumberland, was rated the most at risk area in the North East and ranked 7th overall. While North Northumberland was the second area most at risk in the region, ranking 31st overall.
These are the top five constituency areas in the North East, with their national ranking included in brackets:
- Hexham (7th)
- North Northumberland (31st)
- Blaydon and Consett (73rd)
- North Durham (92nd)
- City of Durham (116th)
You can see the threat level where you live or in areas you plan to visit on holiday using our interactive map.
Andrew Gilruth, CEO of the Moorland Association, blamed rewilding campaigns for filling Britain’s uplands with “highly flammable vegetation” which is “burning at an incredible rate”. He called on new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take “immediate action to allow farmers and gamekeepers to reduce this dangerous overload of vegetation”.
“If he does not act, nature will be destroyed and there will be tragedies for firefighters and people sleeping in their beds,” said Mr Gilruth. He added that excess vegetation from rewilding was “sucking the ground dry” and, combined with climate change, was “baking the plants”, resulting in a “tinderbox Britain in which nature is turning into ashes”.
However, Rebecca Wrigley, chief executive of Rewilding Britain, said that “blaming rewilding completely misses the point”, adding that “simply stripping vegetation off our uplands is no answer to the wildfire threat”. She said: “Britain’s growing wildfire risk is being driven by climate change and the degradation of the living systems on which we all depend, not by efforts to restore nature.
“As hotter, drier conditions increase wildfire risk, the focus should be on preventing fires from starting through better public awareness, ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to respond quickly, and creating landscapes that are more resilient when fires do occur.
“Healthy peatlands and beaver wetlands can create living, moisture-rich shields against wildfire. By restoring a mosaic of native woodlands, heathlands and wetlands, we can turn our soils into natural sponges and create firebreaks that slow the spread of flames.”
The Moorland Association assessed the “hazard” in each area by considering factors that could increase the threat of fire, such as the amount of vegetation that could provide fuel, climate triggers such as likely weather conditions, and terrain features that could amplify the threat.
“Exposure” covers what could be in harm’s way, such as property and habitats, and also assesses how difficult it would be to evacuate in the worst-case scenario.
Finally, “vulnerability” measures the site’s fragility or preparedness, taking into account the age of the housing and the proportion of elderly residents.
See the Moorland Association’s Wildfire Risk League Table for the full rankings.
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