Fire risk with tourists leaving barbecues

Fire risk with tourists leaving barbecues

1 July 2020

THE National Trust has appealed to people not to light barbecues or campfires when they visit the local coastline and countryside and to take their litter home with them.

The appeal comes after an increase in wildfires across the district, the vast majority of which are believed to have been started as a result of people not properly extinguishing barbecues and campfires.

Rangers have reported what they described as a “substantial increase” in people bringing barbecues and ping litter during the easing of the lockdown and warned that despite recent rain, the countryside remains dry after record levels of sunshine in spring.

Trust officials say disposable barbecues and litter are hazards for wildlife which — in the current climate — can spread rapidly. 

There is also major concern about the amount of litter being discarded with Trust staff collecting 60 bags of discarded waste at Murlough last Friday with the help of staff from Castleward.

Over the past few months, the Fire and Rescue Service has been called out to attend a number of fires on National Trust land, including at the Bloody Bridge in the Mournes and among the sand dunes at the Murlough Nature Reserve near Newcastle.

Trust rangers say areas at the highest risk of fire include heathland habitats, landscape with gorse leggy dry grassland and some areas of scrub and woodland.

Incidences of UK wildfires are increasing in number and severity, in part due to changing weather patterns, with 2019 the worst year on record,with the unseasonably warm February and Easter contributing to blazes across the country.

Blazes in rural areas place nesting birds at particular risk, with Trust rangers revealing that various invertebrates and caterpillars’ eggs and larvae, including the rare Marsh Fritillary butterfly larvae that can be found in the dunes at Murlough, can also fall victim to grassland fires.

Worryingly, the rangers say litter has become an increasing issue during the relaxing of lockdown restrictions, with staff and local volunteers helping to clear huge quantities of rubbish from sites across the country.

Patrick Lynch, area ranger for the Mournes and Murlough Nature Reserve, revealed that at the beginning of June an average of 15 bin bags of rubbish were collected daily at the Bloody Bridge, equating to over 100 bags a week that have to be lugged 750 metres down the bloody bridge valley.

“During the same period we collected about 40 bin bags of rubbish a day at Murlough Nature Reserve,” he continued.

“We had an average of three staff members litter picking all day across those six days totalling 135 staff hours. As a conservation charity spending this type of resource simply picking up litter is unsustainable.”

Patrick said staff also received some assistance with litter picking from locals and concerned members of the public.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us keep these special places clean and safe for everyone to enjoy,” he added.

With drier weather expected over the coming days, the National Trust is calling on those making trips to the coast and countryside not to bring a barbecue or leave litter behind.

The charity’s head of nature conservation, Ben McCarthy, said: “We know that people have missed the outdoors and open spaces these past few months and we’re really pleased to be welcoming them back.

“We are urging people not to bring barbecues to the countryside or the coast. They can lead to real problems, particularly after such little rain in April and May. Many areas of land are still very dry and all it takes is a single spark from a barbecue or a dropped cigarette to cause a serious fire.”

He continued: “We absolutely want people to experience the beautiful, natural places we look after and enjoy a picnic in the outdoors. But it’s not okay to drop rubbish and expect someone else to pick it up for you.

“Please keep hold of your litter until you find a bin, or better still, take it home with you, so we can all appreciate our natural places litter free. Litter not only blights the landscape but poses a threat to wildlife, which can easily become entangled or mistake it for food.”

“Please think of others; think of the wildlife and our emergency services and don’t bring barbecues to the beach or countryside.”