A heathland wildfire story
It’s Wildfire Awareness Week, so I’d like to share a salutary reminder of the dangers of lighting fires in the countryside. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…
It was a peaceful and sunny day on the heath. The Woodlark was collecting food for her chicks, who were sleeping in their nest on the ground. The Adder was staying cool under the bracken. Sarah was walking down the footpath, having a lovely time watching the wildlife.
Matt and his friends were in the middle of the heath having a small campfire. Suddenly, one of the sparks flew out of their campfire straight into a gorse bush, which set alight. The fire quickly grew – a wildfire!
Matt and his friends were worried they would get into trouble, so ran home. The fire spread across the heath quickly, burning through gorse, heather and bracken. The Adder and Woodlark tried to escape from the flames, leaving their shelter and their nest behind.
Sarah saw the fire on her walk. She got to a safe place right away, and then rang 999, asking for the Fire & Rescue Service. On the call, she told the operator where and how big the fire was.
The fire fighters arrived as soon as they could and managed to put out the fire. They thanked Sarah for doing the right thing. Sadly, an area of heath the size of a football pitch was burnt, but thanks to Sarah’s fast response, the fire was stopped before it could spread any further.
The next day, the police visited Matt and his friends and told them off for having an illegal campfire. Their actions directly caused the destruction of lots of wildlife.
Most heathland wildfires are caused by people behaving carelessly. Never take any source of fire to the heath – no matches, no BBQs, no campfires and take all litter home.
Questions…
How did the wildfire start?
Can you think of other ways a wildfire could start?
Who was responsible for this wildfire?
Apart from the Woodlark and Adder, who else was at risk from the wildfire?
What do you think happened to the Woodlark chicks?
I hope you enjoyed this extract from our wildfire activity sheet. You can find out more about our work and pickup a copy of the activity sheet during Wildfire Awareness Week. The Fire & Rescue Service will be here to explain how they fight fires locally…and if we’re lucky, they’ll let us climb onto one of their fire engines too!
Michael
Education & Engagement Officer
#BeWildfireAware