NGO launches its own Wildfire Risk Assessment tool

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For many years the NGO has argued that the Met Office's Fire Severity Index lags behind what gamekeepers and land managers are saying about the wildfire risk.

In April we had in excess of 400 fires – more than any other year on record. Isn't it time that the Government acted?

Firstly, by allowing moorland owners to manage fuel loads. And secondly, when conditions are this severe, we need the Government to step in and close public access to at-risk sites such as open access moorland and footpaths across sensitive at risk sites.

The NGO has set up its own Wildfire Risk Assessment tool, which is available for Fire Rescue Services and land managers alike to use and to see what the perceived risk is in their area.

The system works via regular updates of conditions on the ground given by gamekeepers. These are updated regularly to give an up-to-date report on how gamekeepers perceive the risk.

It is interesting to note that Peak District keepers elevated the risk in their area to red/high the day before the most recent fire. On the Met Office's Fire Severity Index, the Peak District was only at amber.

Let's hope that the powers that be start to listen to us, the experts on the ground before the unthinkable happens and people start losing their homes or worse.

Please follow the link to see our wildfire danger risk map:
https://www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk/moorland-fire-index