New Road Signs Warn Visitors About Extreme Wildfire Risks Across North Yorkshire

Dozens of new road signs are being deployed across North Yorkshire to help prevent devastating wildfires, as a national charity demands a complete ban on disposable barbecues.

Warning signs will alert visitors to the extreme risk of wildfires across North Yorkshire's countryside.

Council officials introduced the roadside alerts to prevent devastating blazes linked to campfires and disposable barbecues.

The rollout forms part of the 'Don't Spark Disaster' campaign and follows last year's catastrophic wildfire on Fylingdales Moor.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, explained the reasoning behind the new signs.

"The pictures that are coming out of Europe are horrific. We had the disaster last year on Fylingdales Moor,  so we thought we need to do something.

We're working with the National Parks on this, both parks and with the Country Landowners Association, we're keen to to see us getting these messages out.

I think the issue about putting messages out on the roadside isn't so much for those of us who live in the county because we understand the risk, we understand the problem, but there's lots of people who come into the county, especially at this time of year, start of the school holidays, where we need to get the message through to them."

Councillor Carl Les outlined the core aim of the campaign.

"It's a very simple message just saying no naked flames, no no barbecues in the countryside.

And it is that worry about people having a camping stove or having a disposable barbecue in particular, and perhaps not taking as much care as they might do, and not realizing the risks, but we know that the ground is tinder dry at the moment, and it's so easy for us to have a disaster. It only starts very small, but it can very quickly become a major issue. That's why we have this campaign, don't spark disaster.

At the moment, I think we've got about 20 sites that the signs have gone up. And if we need to do more to educate those people who are coming in from further afield, then we will do that."

Emergency services believe cooking with a naked flame, such as a campfire or gas burner, caused the Fylingdales Moor wildfire last summer.

Tinder-dry conditions on the North York Moors allowed the blaze to spread across twenty square kilometres, causing massive disruption to residents, businesses, and wildlife habitats.

The director of recreation and wellbeing at the North York Moors National Park Authority, Joel Brookfield, highlighted the human element of the threat.

"While the term ‘wildfire’ might lead people to think that these events are natural or spontaneous, it’s the actions of people that pose the greatest risks.

These highly visible signs will raise awareness of wildfire dangers and how everyone can reduce the risk, reinforcing the simple but vital messages at the heart of the Don’t Spark Disaster campaign."

Councillor Carl Les added that organised BBQ events should not be impacted by the warnings which is says are targeted at the use of disposable barbecues in open countryside.

"In many ways, I wish they were a little bit larger the the signs, because just saying no barbecues in the countryside, we've already had the inquiry from one place where they say we have a field and we allow people to come in and set up their barbecues and it's controlled and we have people there on duty or whatever.

We'd quite like to get that message that organized barbecues are all right. It's the informal barbecue and especially the ones with disposable kids."

The local campaign coincides with a plea from Keep Britain Tidy for the government to urgently ban the sale of disposable barbecues.

The environmental charity’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, described the items as environmental grenades.

"Every summer single-use barbecues cause wildfires up and down the country, wrecking natural habitats, consuming millions of gallons of precious water as fire services work to extinguish them and posing a threat to life and limb.

It is almost impossible to dispose of them safely as they can reach temperatures of 400o C and take a minimum of four hours to cool down.

This year we have had three notable heatwaves and each one has been accompanied by wildfires which have wiped out wildlife, wrecked precious green space, released tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere and posed a significant danger to people, not least those battling to put them out.

As many uncontrolled fires are being blamed on abandoned barbecues we at Keep Britain Tidy join the London Fire Brigade and other fire services around the country in calling for these fire starters to be banned. Surely it is time to stop these environmental grenades being sold?

We would like to see the government bring in a ban on sales as a matter of urgency."

Councillor Carl Les responded to the idea of a complete ban on disposable barbecues.

"I don't know that I'd want to go so far as to to ban them, but I do know that the the mayor of York in North Yorkshire has asked that places stop selling them, which I suppose in is in the same effect.

But if somebody has a small yard at home or a a back garden and they don't have a big barbecue kit, I wouldn't want to stop them being able to go down to the supermarket and buying a small disposable barbecue to use in their backyard.

But, I think the message is about in the open countryside, if the signs were a bit bigger, we could put open countryside, rather than just in the countryside."

The chair of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Derek Twine, emphasised the speed at which upland fires can spread.

"Recent wildfires across the country have demonstrated just how quickly fire can spread across our uplands.

By installing these signs at key locations around the Dales, we are reinforcing a simple but vital message - don't spark disaster.

Everyone coming into a National Park has a part to play in preventing wildfires by taking their litter home, disposing of cigarettes safely, and never lighting barbecues or campfires."

The 'Don't Spark Disaster' campaign encourages visitors to enjoy the outdoors safely by choosing picnics that do not require on-site cooking.

There is more information at https://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/share-with-care/dont-spark-disaster