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05
Jul
'Don't light fires in the Pinewoods' urges conservation group member
For many, barbecues and campfires are part of what makes summer evenings special, but a member of Harrogate's Pinewoods Conservation Group is urging people not to light them in the woods.
Lyndon Wallace says there is a danger that a fire could spread, and fears “we could easily lose our beautiful Pinewoods and some of the Valley Gardens”.
Mr Wallace wrote to the Stray Ferret with his concerns – you can read his letter here – after having called out the fire service for the sixth time this year to put out a fire in the Pinewoods.
He told us:
It may be through simple ignorance and not knowing the danger of how easy it is for these fires to spread. A slight breeze, and a fire which was thought to be out can reignite, even over the following days.
Just the heat from underneath a disposable barbecue can be enough to start a fire later.
I personally have come across about 10 or 12 fires so far this year, and members of the public often contact us about fires they’ve seen.
Yesterday, I was walking through the Pinewoods when I smelled smoke, and it turned out to be a fire that had reignited two days after it had been put out. I called the fire service again and they came and soaked the area.
This fire in Stainburn Forest reignited five days after it was first put out.
He said most of the fires are campfires, but he has also seen piles of books being burnt, and even whole trees set alight for no purpose.
He said some areas were worse than others:
The worst area for it is between the Valley Gardens and Harlow Moor Road – I've counted 24 fire circles there over the last three years, and another eight or so on the far side of Harlow Moor Road, plus four or five in the Valley Gardens itself.
This year, I’ve even found disposable barbecues, with scorched grass and beer cans, in the children’s play area.
And it seems his fear that the Pinewoods could be lost if a breeze fanned flames near dry tinder may not be too far-fetched. After the driest spring on record, last month was the warmest June ever recorded.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said:
All fires in the open have a risk of spreading. Pine trees if they are still growing are quite resistant to combusting, but any tree with the right conditions will burn and the fire can then spread.
North Yorkshire Council’s elected member for the Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate, Cllr Sam Gibbs, said:
Incidents like this pose a threat to public safety, local wildlife, and the environment we all value and enjoy.
I would like to reassure people that we do take this seriously and are working closely with our partners to prevent it happening in future.
The frequency – and potential danger – of fires in the Pinewoods, along with other problems often encountered there, have led to the Pinewoods Conservation Group asking for a public space protection order (PSPO) to be issued.
PSPOs are meant to control or ban certain activities in specific public spaces that negatively affect the local community’s quality of life.
A PSPO in the Pinewoods would ban open fires and might also tackle other issues, such as rough sleeping and wild camping. Fixed penalty notices could then be issued to people caught breaching its restrictions.
Mr Wallace has already been in contact with North Yorkshire Council, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue to discuss the details, but a PSPO is unlikely to be issued before the summer is over.
In the meantime, Mr Wallace is urging people to be vigilant, especially during spells of dry weather.
In his letter to us, he wrote:
Please report everything you see to the appropriate authority: police, fire service or North Yorkshire Council, so they have a record of the problems.
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