Vegetation Is the One Wildfire Factor We Can Control: Our Letter to The Telegraph

SIR – Your report on the Dunwich Heath wildfire highlights a question that deserves closer attention (“Rewilding blamed for Suffolk wildfire”, report, August 2). Once a fire starts, its spread and intensity depend on the weather, the shape of the land and the vegetation available to burn.

Of these, vegetation is the factor land managers can influence. Its amount, type and continuity can determine whether a fire is quickly contained or becomes severe and difficult to control

Recent wildfires on land managed by some of Britain’s largest conservation organisations should prompt an independent, evidence-led examination of vegetation, land management and preparedness. Nature recovery or rewilding cannot simply be assumed to reduce wildfire risk.

Without active management, they may allow large areas of continuous vegetation to develop. Grazing, cutting, firebreaks and carefully planned winter burning can help break up that fuel and assist firefighters.

Asking these questions is not an attack on conservation. Those responsible for these landscapes must recognise what neighbouring communities and landowners reasonably expect: management that protects wildlife, homes and livelihoods from catastrophic wildfire. Surely that is an outcome everyone should share.

Andrew Gilruth

Chief Executive

The Moorland Association