Fire Risk

Wed 20 July 2022

The fire risk in England and Wales is considered against a scaled called the Fire Severity Index
The FSI for the Peak District is currently the highest possible (5 out of 5) which means ‘Exceptional Fire Severity’

The South Yorkshire and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Services have both supported and promoted a National campaign to be #WILDFIREAWARE

The unprecedented weather led the Peak District National Park Authority to impose a ban on access to Open Access Land other than when using Public Rights Of Way

They imposed the ban from Monday, and reinforced their messaging on Tuesday afternoon – although the temperatures have dropped the FSI remains at Level 5

Monday evening saw a fire on farmland and moorland in Ughill (Picture credit – Friends of Loxley Valley)

And on Tuesday afternoon a fire broke out on the forested slopes of Win Hill near Ladybower Reservoir (Photo credit – Andy Jones Foto )

Investigations by the Fire Service have found that people using a camping stove (despite the significant fire risk) were responsible for the fire – BBC News Article
That fire was still alight on Wednesday afternoon with six tenders in attendance.

A fire at Dovestone (near Crowden) is ongoing, and an investigation at the scene has discovered traces of accelerant which suggest the fire is arson – MEN article

CPRE PDSY joined forces with lots of other organisations during the Covid pandemic to try and promote a ‘one voice’ approach to messaging important information out to as many as possible as quickly as possible.

That group (Peak Communicators – led by the National Park and including all of the emergency services) has ‘re-grouped’ to get the message out about safe use of the countryside during this unprecedented weather spell.

‘Connecting People and Countryside’ is part of our strategy, and so we are currently using our social media feeds to amplify the messaging from the Peak Communicators and the emergency services