New project puts Mournes at the heart of unique wildfire research

New project puts Mournes at the heart of unique wildfire research

23 October 2013

THE Mournes are at the centre of a unique and innovative project to reduce the damage caused by wildfires. Work being carried out in the local mountain range could provide a template for battling wildfires which break out across the UK and Ireland.

The project got underway after a small fire broke out in a wood on the slopes of the Mourne Mountains above Annalong in May 2011.

Within hours the fire, which was started deliberately by vandals, had spread across 10 square kilometres of the Mournes, devastating a region of European importance and putting lives at risk.

To put into perspective the scale of the fire, at its height firefighters from 61 out of Northern Ireland’s 68 fire stations were battling it; flames were reported to be 40 foot high and travelling faster than an adult could run. Homes were evacuated and emergency accommodation centres were set up in Annalong and Kilkeel.

By the time the fire was extinguished it had destroyed bracken and heathland on one third of the water catchment area within the Mournes — one third of the Northern Ireland Water-owned (NIW) land enclosed by the Mourne Wall.

Not only had it savaged important heathland, destroyed grazing and significantly reducing the attractiveness of the area for tourists, the fire had threatened the cleanliness of the water running into the huge reservoirs in the Mournes. By burning deep into the ground, the blaze had compromised the ability of the peat to filter the water.

Such blazes are known as landscape fires and are mercifully rare in Northern Ireland. However, the 2011 fire alarmed the members of a group which had been set up following previous fires in the Mournes.

In 2004 the Safer Mournes Partnership was set up after a series of devastating fires. The PSNI, Fire Service, Mourne Heritage Trust, Down and Newry and Mourne Councils, Forest Service and National Trust had been working together to prevent such fires and synchronising their services when a blaze broke out.

However, the scale of the devastation in 2011 persuaded the Partnership that more needed to be done. It was a wake-up call that not only could such fires cause horrific environmental damage, but the threat to the water supply could have an enormous economic impact.

Three government departments — Environment, Regional Development and Social Development — agreed to fund a small research project to look at the issue of wildfires in the Mournes.

The project is now complete and the results are troubling. By examining climate change and weather patterns it has been established that the chances of a landscape fire have increased and could easily devastate an even larger portion of the Mournes.

A world renowned wildfire expert from Catalonia, in Spain, and the UK’s top Fire Service expert were part of the team which compiled the report which is now being examined in Stormont.

The Mourne Heritage Trust has an obvious interest in the wildfire research and has been heavily involved in the project. Matthew Busby, the Trust’s Countryside Services Manager, says landscape fires have a “catastrophic impact” on the eco systems in the uplands.

“The indications are that the climate is changing so it is apparent that the critical conditions that will enable wildfires to occur will in place more often,” he said.

“There is no strategic plan for wildfires as there is for terrorism or flooding. Yet the uplands are off huge value,” added Matthew.

He said the project which has recently been completed has been “innovative” and such research has never before been carried out in the UK or Ireland.

Using computer modelling the experts were able to examine the weather patterns and the landscape of the Mournes and identify areas which can be managed to reduce the fire risk.

“There are 70,000 hectares within the Area of Special Scientific Interest but only two per cent would need to be managed according to the report,” said Matthew. “The Mourne Wildfire Group needs to identify an agreed approach to the areas that need to be managed.”

Matthew says the group wants to work closely with all those involved in the Mournes, including farmers and trustees, to tap into their knowledge and skills.

One possible way of reducing the fire risk is to have controlled burning in designated areas to remove fuel for fires, although Matthew says that agreement is necessary before this can take place.

“We can’t cut the areas and we can’t spray it so we need to see how acceptable it would be to burn it.

“But we have to be careful that the fire does not burn down into the peat and we need to keep a seed base to allow for regeneration.”

Money is now needed to set up a Northern Ireland Wildfire Forum which would drive the project in the Mournes and develop a strategy which could be applied elsewhere in the province

“This is the only area in the UK and Ireland with this innovative project for combating wildfires,” said Matthew. “To be involved in something like this is exciting and could have a hugely positive impact on how the landscape is managed.