National fire chiefs call for “strategic” decisions to reduce “tinderbox” wildfire risk
- Andrew Gilruth
- Mar 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 7
The growing risk of catastrophic wildfires has led to fire chiefs demanding that the Government gets to grip with the risk posed by a rapid build-up in dry vegetation. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said it was time for joined-up “strategic decision and policymaking” by central Government. [1]
The fire chiefs were responding to a letter to the Home Secretary from the Moorland Association which argued that Natural England policy was causing the rise in vegetation fuel loads. [2]
“Like Los Angeles, our politicians have ignored the build-up of vegetation which their own red tape has created”, said Andrew Gilruth, CEO of the Moorland Association whose members own one million acres of moorland in England and Wales.
“They have also ignored how the sharp fall in relative humidity over the past twenty years means that our vegetation is much more flammable. [3] Sooner or later there will be a strong wind blowing the wrong way with our northern cities most at risk. It may happen under Angela Rayner’s watch - next month she takes over responsibility for wildfire policy from Yvette Cooper”, said Mr Gilruth. [4]
The growing fuel loads are causing official concern: a Defra review into Dartmoor described the area as “sitting on a tinderbox” due to the “build-up of flammable vegetation across the moor” [5] Last week, fire crews tackling a moorland fire Cumbria, said that the “fire loading” of dead vegetation was “increasing the risk of wildfire”. [6]
A report instigated by the Peak District National Park said “fuel loading” was creating “the frightening potential of fire… reaching extremes both in the rate of spread and flame lengths far beyond the capacity of control of the FRS”. [7] Meanwhile, national fire chiefs have warned that wildfires are increasingly spilling over the “rural urban interface”. [8]
The NFCC response to the Moorland Association identified three means of dealing with the build-up of vegetation: burning, cutting and grazing. But the Association argues that Natural England is blocking each of these fire-prevention approaches.
The Moorland Association points out that the Saddleworth blaze of 2018 took hold in an area where Natural England only allowed heather to be burnt back once every 23 years. [9] The smoke from that fire was inhaled by five million people in the Greater Manchester area. [10]
Since then there has been a further sharp reduction in areas where Natural England allows vegetation to be removed through winter burns or mowing. RSPB scientists say these areas fell 73% in 2021 following new regulations. [11]
The other factor adding to the fuel load are Natural England incentives for farmers to reduce the number of sheep they graze. Defra figures show that sheep numbers have fallen 7% in the last two years. [12] With sheep on average consuming 1.5kg of vegetation every day, that means 600,000 tonnes less vegetation being removed from the countryside each year. [13] Last week, the Cumbrian firefighters specifically blamed the increasing risk of wildfires on those who were “forcing farmers hands in the removal of sheep.” [14]
By contrast with the UK, both the EU Commission and the US Government advocate the use of “fire sheep” and goats as a means of reducing wildfires. [15]
Sources
[1] The National Fire Chiefs Council call for joined-up “strategic decision and policymaking” by central Government: letter received by the Moorland Association on 21 March 2025: https://f20ead8a-2979-4fd6-9990-9784b9a21c0c.usrfiles.com/ugd/f20ead_7270186ef1254910b8eeb7356af23615.pdf
[2] Moorland Association letter sent to the Home Secretary in January 2025: https://www.moorlandassociation.org/post/wildfire-letter
[3] Relative humidity in the UK has fallen sharply since 2000 https://climate.metoffice.cloud/humidity.html#:~:text=While%20there%20is%20now%20more,%5D%20%25rh%2010yr%2D1. See also that 40% humidity is the wildfire threshold: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-rescue-service-wildfire-operational-guidance/pages/15/
[4] Angela Rayner due to take over responsibility for wildfire policy coordination on 1 April 2025: see statement by Keir Starmer: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-02-13/hcws455
[5] Defra report said in December 2023 that excess vegetation had made Dartmoor into a “tinderbox”: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-protected-site-management-on-dartmoor/independent-review-of-protected-site-management-on-dartmoor
[6] Cumbrian wildfire blamed by FRS on fuel load: https://cumbriacrack.com/2025/03/20/crews-tackle-first-wildfires-of-2025-in-cumbria/ and https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122114708966768901&id=61573067031548&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=XjK0tqruKwh53SCF#
[7] “frightening potential”: See Peak District National Park report page ii: p2 https://www.peakdistrictwildfire.co.uk/_files/ugd/9c9ad7_a594c151525a4878a241bac12e93d409.pdf
[8] NFCC said UK wildfires increasingly threatening “rural urban interface”: https://nfcc.org.uk/our-services/position-statements/wildfires-position-statement/
[9] Natural England said that the Saddleworth fire started at https://w3w.co/grub.slams.dart . The headkeeper said it started nearby at https://w3w.co/violinist.circular.speakers . Both spots are in an area which Natural England only allowed to be burnt once every 23 years. This Natural England ban is documented under the agency’s 2014 Higher Level Stewardship plan for this moor.
[10] Saddleworth fire exposed 5 million to dangerous pollution: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-52208610 and the pollution included lead and cadmium: “because of extensive toxic fallout from factories a century ago… “There’s 100 years’ of pollution buried along with the peat as it formed,” says [Professor Hugh] Coe.” See New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931853-300-smoke-from-moorland-wildfires-may-hold-toxic-blast-from-the-past/ and the result was 28 premature deaths: “over the 7-day period 28 (95% CI: 14.1-42.1) deaths were brought forward, with a mean daily excess mortality of 3.5 deaths per day”: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340286590_Impact_on_air_quality_and_health_due_to_the_Saddleworth_Moor_Fire_in_Northern_England
[11] 73% decrease: an RSPB funded study said that there was a 73% reduction in areas being managed by burning or cutting in the immediate aftermath of the Natural England ban on burning imposed under the Burning (England) Regulations 2021. See “Annual extent of prescribed burning on moorland in Great Britain”: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rse2.389 NB the model was unable to “fully separate burning from cutting on moorland” meaning that neither method of reducing fuel load was taking place in the 73% of land where excess vegetation was previously being managed.
[12] Defra data shows the English flock fell by 7.2% over the last two year from 14,921,607 in 2022 to 13,830,855 in 2024:
[13] Average sheep consumes roughly 1.5 kg of vegetation a day. See Table 2 on page 11, https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/Imported%20Publication%20Docs/FeedingTheEweGuide_240613_Web.pdf
[14] Sheep removal blamed for Cumbrian fuel load: https://cumbriacrack.com/2025/03/20/crews-tackle-first-wildfires-of-2025-in-cumbria/ and https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122114708966768901&id=61573067031548&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=XjK0tqruKwh53SCF#
[15] EU on grazing reducing wildfire risks: https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/stories/value-grazing-wildfire-prevention-tool
U.S. Government using sheep to reduce wildlfire risk for 30 years https://www.fema.gov/case-study/bring-out-sheep See also fire goats and sheep: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/what-is-spain-s-elite-goat-and-sheep-firefighting-brigade