Peak Fire Risk Means Sticking To Paths

Take extra care on moorlands and stick to paths to avoid incinerating fragile terrain and unfortunate wild life is the message from the Peak District National Park Authority. Restricting access would be a last resort scenario.

Following on from last week's fires on moorland above Tintwistle, which destroyed aproximately two square miles of moorland, Sean Prendergast, Chief Ranger, said:

'The Fires Advisory Panel met this morning to review the fire risk situation and recommended that the access moorlands in the National Park remain open where, for the time being, we are asking people to stick to well-defined paths rather than wander at will.

'We hope the weather will be kind to us with rain forecast over the next few days. However, we are monitoring conditions on a daily basis and we're asking people to take extra care to avoid starting moorland fires. It only takes one carelessly discarded match or cigarette to start a blaze'

More than fifty people, two helicopters, 1.5 tonnes of equipment, including portable reservoirs and more than a mile of water-hose, were reportedly needed to extinguish the fires over five days. And this was a relatively small blaze. The big danger with fires on peaty land is that they spread into the underlying peat layers where they smoulder and become extremely hard to extinguish.

Sean said, 'Closing the access moorland would be a last resort if conditions deteriorate. People can help by behaving responsibly and I would encourage everyone to be extra vigilant and take great care to avoid starting fires.'

So if you're out in the Peak, stick to the paths and leave the fags at home...