Wildfire Wise - South Wales Fire and Rescue Service

The Wales Wildfire Board are encouraging you to be #wildfirewise this spring and summer.

As the seasons change, and the promise of warmer weather is on the horizon, it is the ideal time to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, booking your staycations or holidays, take your family on a camping trip, or just enjoy your local area.

Summertime carries with it a real set of dangers if you do not follow practical and correct safety advice appropriate for this time of year. A few simple precautions and a little extra care could keep you, your family, communities and the environment safe.

During the summer, grass and mountains can become very dry, which means if you deliberately or accidentally start a fire outdoors it will spread very quickly, destroying everything in its path.

Every year fire is responsible for the destruction of thousands of hectares of countryside, open space, and wildlife habitats. Partners of the Wales Wildfire Board commit to working with communities to build a healthier and more resilient landscape, by developing a more biodiverse countryside for the future.

By working together with our communities to share our knowledge, we hope to provide a better understanding on what we can all do to prevent wildfires from happening and in turn limit the damage they can cause to our environment.

About the Wales Wildfire Board

The Wales Wildfire Board is a multi-agency approach to better understand and manage the risk of wildfire on the environment and the communities of Wales.

It’s aims and objectives, delivered through a Wales Wildfire Charter, build on the knowledge and experience gained over the last decade whilst paying cognisance to the ever-present danger of climate change and the value of encouraging communities and individuals to work together to protect the areas where we live, work and visit.

The Board aim to engage with various audiences, working together to support wildfire management, listening, and sharing practical solutions for Wales. Through this collaborative approach, agencies on the Wales Wildfire Board hope to provide a better understanding of what can be done to limit the number of wildfire fires, in turn, minimising the damage they can cause to our environment.

Working together to protect our countryside and our country

In 2024 fire services across Wales attended 977 grass fire incidents – this was a decrease of 47% on the previous year with deliberate grass fires decreasing by 576 (44%) to 713.

The Wales Wildfire Board’s approach to managing the risk of wildfire will include three key themes, each designed to ensure we can focus on the areas which not only require the most attention but will also have the biggest influence in improving our understanding of wildfires and how the Board can positively manage their impact:

Partnerships – Through an evolving partnership approach, we will bring together Welsh Government, Emergency Services, Public and Private Organisations, Landowners and Land Users to manage and develop our landscape.
Environmental and Community Resilience – We will contribute to the management of our landscape to protect wildlife, forestry, and livelihoods; improve well-being, health, and amenities, facilitate sustainable food production, and create a sense of place and community ownership.
Prevention and Protection – We will implement a diverse range of management techniques to reduce the impact of wildfire on our communities and the landscape in Wales.

Remember

If are out enjoying the countryside and you do come across any suspicious activity, please call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or ring 101. In an emergency, always call 999.

Don’t Forget

Heather and grass burning with a Burn Plan ended on 15^th March (31^st March in upland areas).

The Heather and Grass Burning Code.

The Wales Wildfire Board is continuing its work with farmers and landowners across Wales, and together we can try to reverse the loss of Biodiversity in Wales. We understand the benefits and the role that controlled fires have on our landscape, in promoting biological diversity and creating healthier ecosystems.

Farmers and Landowners can continue to burn heather, grass, bracken, and gorse up until the 15 March (up to 31 March in Upland areas), however, they must have a Burn Plan in place to ensure they are burning safely. It is illegal to burn between sunset and sunrise and there must always be sufficient people and equipment on hand to control the burn. Breaking these rules can result in penalties of up to £1000. We want to work with our local landowners to ensure that this doesn’t happen. You can contact us for free advice on safe burning and we have more information on Farm Safety here.

You can find out more about The Heather and Grass Burning Code – and download a Burning Management Plan from the Welsh Government website.

If you see a fire which looks like it might be out of control or being burnt illegally, then please call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or ring 101. In an emergency, always call 999.

Fire setting is a crime.

While accidents can happen, there are others within our communities who are deliberately setting fire to our countryside. Deliberate fire setting is a crime and the Task Force is appealing for information on anyone deliberately setting fires to call 101, or to report anonymously to CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111. Anonymous means that no mobile number, address, or location of calls are tracked. Those caught will be prosecuted.

This work is supported by our Arson Reduction team, a problem-solving team, dedicated to reducing and eliminating deliberate fire-setting. The team consists of a seconded Police Officer, a Fire Officer and three specialist arson advisors who ensure that all incidents are investigated and analysed to make our communities safer. The team works closely with its partners to target problematic areas and to consistently develop ways of reducing arson and to identify who or what may be affected.

Wildfire Wise Campaign Resources

Despite our past success, wildfires across Wales continue to provide a clear and present danger to our environment, our economy, and our communities and over the last four years, we have seen the early signs of plateauing in incident numbers, indicating perhaps a new approach is needed to safeguard our communities.

By drawing together a multi-agency approach to Wildfire awareness, the Wales Wildfire Board aims to engage with various audiences, working together to support wildfire management, listening, and sharing practical solutions for Wales.

As such, we have developed this page for all partners, contributors and stakeholders to the #WildfireWise campaign to easily access all available materials:

All Press Releases (English and Welsh versions) issued in support of the campaign.
Pre-written and pre-translated social media messages.
Images for Facebook, X, Instagram, which you can download to accompany the pre-written social media messages – or indeed any additional agency specific messages you would like to post in support of the campaign.
All photographs, videos and incident footage which may also be used to support the campaign.
Any briefing material which is developed to assist us in getting our messages across to our own staff on the frontline.

If you do have any questions around the communications approach to the Wildfire Wise campaign – or indeed, if you’d like to discuss any additional material which you feel would benefit the campaign, then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

SWFRS Press Office
media@southwales-fire.gov.uk