Lessons from Afar: Why the World Trusts Controlled Burning to Protect Against Wildfire

The debate surrounding the management of our uplands is often fierce. In the UK, land managers face increasing pressure to adopt "no-burn" policies under the guise of environmental protection. However, when we look beyond our shores, a very different picture emerges.

Across the globe, nations that battle the world's most ferocious wildfires are not banning fire. Instead, they are embracing it. From the forests of California to the bushlands of Australia and the heathlands of Southern Europe, controlled (prescribed) burning is viewed as an essential, non-negotiable tool.

These nations understand a fundamental truth: completely removing fire from the landscape does not save nature. It often endangers it.

The Global Consensus: Fire is Not Always the Enemy

The principle behind controlled burning is straightforward. Wildfires need fuel to burn. In our context, this fuel is often dry, woody vegetation like old heather, bracken, and scrub.

If this vegetation is allowed to accumulate year after year, it builds a massive "fuel load."

When a wildfire inevitably sparks - whether through lightning, arson, or a discarded BBQ - this accumulated fuel creates a fire so hot and fast that it becomes uncontrollable.

Controlled burning strategically reduces this fuel load. By burning small areas under strict, cool conditions, land managers create fire breaks. These breaks slow down future wildfires, allowing firefighters a chance to stop the flames before they destroy peat, property, and wildlife.

Global reports, such as the State of Wildfires 2024-25 released by leading climate researchers, have shifted the narrative. They warn that prohibiting traditional burning practices actually increases long-term risk. The consensus is clear: trying to suppress all fire is a dangerous gamble that usually results in hotter, more destructive disasters later.

International Case Studies and Outcomes

To understand why we should protect our ability to use controlled burning, we only need to look at the evidence from our international allies.

Australia: The Return of Indigenous Wisdom

Australia has faced some of the most catastrophic fire seasons on record. For decades, modern policies restricted burning, ignoring thousands of years of land management history.

However, following the devastation of recent "Black Summer" fires, the narrative changed.

There is now a widespread recognition of the value of Indigenous cultural burning. These traditional practices use low-intensity fire to clean up the landscape, reducing fuel loads and promoting biodiversity.

Recent Royal Commission recommendations have underscored this. Australian policy is now actively pivoting back to these methods, acknowledging that the "lock it up and leave it" approach was a failure that put communities at risk.

The USA: An Expensive Lesson in Suppression

For much of the 20th century, the United States followed a policy of total fire suppression. They put out every fire immediately and stopped controlled burns. The result was a disaster.

Forests became overgrown tinderboxes. Today, the U.S. Forest Service has completely reversed course. They now acknowledge that fire is a natural process.

Agencies are actively budgeting billions of dollars to scale up controlled burning operations. They have crunched the numbers and found that proactive burning is infinitely cheaper - and safer - than paying for the catastrophic damage of megafires.

Mediterranean Europe: Evidence-Led Management

Closer to home, Southern Europe shares many vegetation characteristics with UK heathlands. In regions like Catalonia, Spain, fire is a standard tool for land managers.

Experts such as Marc Castellnou, a leading fire analyst in Catalonia, advocate strongly for the use of fire to fight fire. They treat the landscape as a mosaic. By managing vegetation through burning, they prevent the landscape from becoming a continuous block of fuel.

For these European neighbours, controlled burning isn't an archaic tradition; it is a modern, evidence-based strategy used to protect rural economies and ecosystems.

Responsible Practice: Guidelines and Safety

Critics in the UK often portray moorland burning as unregulated or reckless. This could not be further from the truth. Just like our international counterparts, UK land managers operate under strict regulations.

Controlled burning is responsible specifically because it is "controlled." It is not done at random. It involves a rigorous assessment of environmental conditions.

• Seasonal Windows: Burning is restricted to specific cooler months (the "burning season") to protect nesting birds and breeding wildlife.

• Moisture Levels: Burns are conducted when the ground is damp enough to prevent the fire from damaging the underlying peat or soil. The aim is to burn the vegetation off the top, not burn into the ground.

• Peat Depth: Modern guidelines often restrict burning on deep peat, focusing management on areas where it provides the best fire break protection without harming carbon stores.

• Weather Conditions: Keepers carefully monitor wind speed and direction. If the conditions aren't perfect, the match is not lit.

The international standard - and the UK standard - is to balance ecology with fuel management. It requires skill, experience, and scientific understanding.

High-Level Endorsement

The argument for prescribed burning is also supported at the highest political levels. It is no longer just a discussion for farmers and gamekeepers; it is a matter of national security and climate resilience.

Recent communiqués from the G7 have recognized the need for proactive land management to mitigate wildfire risks. Similarly, strategies coming out of the White House and the European Union have explicitly supported prescribed burning as a proven prevention method.

These major international bodies are looking at the data. They see that climate change is making wildfires more frequent and more intense. Their conclusion is that we cannot afford to lose the tool of prescribed fire.

If the world's leading economies and environmental agencies support this practice, the UK’s restrictions begin to look increasingly out of step with global best practice.

Applying Global Wisdom to Our Moors

England's moorlands are unique, globally rare habitats. We all want to see them thrive, retaining their carbon, their wildlife, and their beauty. But we cannot protect them by ignoring reality.

The evidence from Australia, the USA, and Europe provides a powerful lesson. Prohibiting controlled burning allows fuel loads to build up, turning our precious landscapes into ticking time bombs.

If we want to protect our moors from the devastation of summer wildfires, we must trust the tools that the rest of the world relies on. We must allow our land managers to continue their responsible, evidence-led use of controlled burning. The world has learned the hard way that fire is a good servant, but a bad master - let us not make the same mistake.

Stay Updated

📧 Keep updated on all moorland issues - sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter.