UK Wildfire Risk League Table: Constituencies Ranked by Threat of Deadly Fires
- Rob Beeson
- 6 minutes ago
- 1 min read
The High Peak constituency faces the highest risk of deadly wildfires, closely followed by Calder Valley and Tiverton and Minehead.
The ranking is based on ten criteria including the amount of vegetation, its proximity to homes and the difficulty of evacuating people. This league table has been produced by the Moorland Association whose members include gamekeepers and farmers who are often the first responders to wildfires.
The league table was shared with MPs this week after the EFRA Select Committee issued a call for evidence which highlighted how a wildfire destroyed 20 homes in Dagenham and Rainham. That constituency ranks 561st on the threat index.
“Climate change is turning our countryside into tinder, and while Scotland has a clear plan to manage the excess vegetation, in England the authorities are obsessed with rewilding and restricting all common sense measures for reducing the fuel load. It is no wonder that the National Fire Chiefs Council has so strongly criticised Defra’s approach,” said Andrew Gilruth, CEO of the Moorland Association.
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