Large fire risk in Exmoor

Critics have claimed that proposals to limit the controlled burning on Exmoor may leave the area open to the possibility of even bigger fires.

The issue was raised at a Natural England meeting last week which discussed limiting the “swayling”, as it is known, to just five hectares.

The controlled burning practice is carried out in order to prevent overgrowth and allows for better walking access and should a fire then break out, it would be less likely to start spreading quickly.

Speaking on behalf of Exmoor Uprising, a local pressure group, Molly Groves, said:

“If matters are left any longer when these areas finally do catch fire they will burn the peat as well and we shall be left with an arid wasteland.

“Any walkers caught in front of the fire, going with the wind, will not be able to run fast enough to get away from it.”

Simon Thorp, Director of the Heather Trust, said that large wild fires could become a future issue of the management of the unburnt heather build-up is not addressed, due to the fact that longer heather is harder to control when on fire.

A Natural England spokesperson said:

“We continue to work closely with landowners and managers to agree and implement burning plans on SSSIs or as part of their agri-environment agreements.”