With over six square kilometers of Peak moorland still recovering from earlier moorland blazes, the Moors for the Future Partnership has launched a campaign to to improve fire awareness.
You might not believe it, what with the general damp and cold
we've been experiencing, but 16-24 April has been designated 'Fire
Awareness Week' in the Peak District and is aimed at highlighting the
destructive power of accidental blazes on the moors.
Some 11 roadshows will take place, emphasising the need to dispose
of cigarettes carefully and refrain from lighting campfires or
camping stoves on open uplands. Over six square kilometers of Perak
District moorland is currently badly eroded after fire damage and the
Peak Park Authority says there have been 345 reported incidences of
accidental fires in the last 28 years within the National Park.
The last major fires were in 2003 when an untypically dry spring saw
fires sweeping the moors above Glossop and Saddleworth as early as
Easter time. Work to repair the damage caused then is still ongoing
with helicopters being used to re-seed the burned areas.
The roadshows start off in Glossop (April 16) and Dovestones
(April 16-24), going on to Edale (April 17), Castleton (April 20),
Fairholmes (April 21), Tittesworth (April 22), Hayfield, Marsden,
Surprise View (all April 23), Macclesfield Forest and Torside (both
April 24).
Firefighters and equipment from all six fire services who operate
in the area, plus National Park Rangers, Moors for the Future,
National Trust, United Utilities, Severn Trent Water and moorland
keepers will be on hand to give information, answer questions, and
hand out a new 'Fire Kills' leaflet and re-usable ashtray pouches
Moor Care Ranger Dan Boys said: "Accidental summer fires are the
single biggest factor contributing to the moors' rapid erosion, as
they burn deep into the peat, destroying the seed bank and
effectively sterilising the soil. With no vegetation to bind the bare
peat together, it is at the mercy of wind, rain and frost."
Central to the restoration of damaged area of Peak moorland is the
Moors for the Future Partnership. For more details see www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk
You can also download a 'Fire Kills' leaflet from this
page.
