The Denbighshire Moorland Management and Wildfire Prevention Project lead by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Natural Resources Wales and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will be showcased as part of a series of events being staged at the Royal Welsh Show next week.
The “Wildfire in Wales” campaign is a multi-agency initiative bringing together organisations from across Wales to raise awareness of the increasing risk of wildfires. From the 18th – 21st July, partner organisations will be at the Royal Welsh Show hosting a series of events and online activities showcasing projects that are responding the increasing risk of wildfires and will be promoting proactive land management techniques and the benefits of working together to make Wales more resilient to wildfires in the future.
AONB Moorland Officer, Graham Berry, will be presenting at the FUW and NFU stands on the 20th July and participating in panel discussions on land management policies and the use of management techniques in wildfire prevention.
During the summer of 2018, a major wildfire occurred on Llantysilio Mountain near Llangollen, burning for six weeks it destroyed 250 hectares of moorland, causing significant damage to wildlife, peat and disruption to local people, farmers and businesses. Denbighshire County Council and Natural Resources Wales agreed to jointly fund a Moorland Field Officer to work with farmers and landowners to help promote the management of moorland in the County and reduce the risk and severity of moorland wildfires in the future. The project has enabled the management of over 50 hectares of moorland since 2021 and undertaken restoration works on Llantysilio, spreading heather and grass seed over 15 hectares of the fire damaged hillside.
The launch of Wildfire in Wales campaign is particularly timely as the region is currently experiencing a heatwave as a result of hot air flowing north from mainland Europe. Changes in the climate patterns mean that heatwaves will become hotter, last longer and occur more frequently in the UK. This will dry out the land and vegetation for longer periods increase the risk of wildfires.
Councillor Win Mullen-James, Cabinet Lead Member with responsibility for the AONB, said:

“The project seeks to implement restoration Llantysilio Mountain, identify areas of wildfire risk and prioritise moorland management to reduce the risk by bringing together landowners, farmers and key organisations such as Natural Resources Wales and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, who are all responding to the threat of wildfires”.

Councillor Emrys Wynne, Denbighshire’s Cabinet Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage, including Rural Affairs, said:
“The risk of wildfires increases in hot and dry conditions and wildfires like these pose tremendous pressures on the responding organisations, as well as having a devastating impact on the public and the environment. We have worked hard on this project to try and alleviate the risk to our scenic countryside and look forward to sharing our learnings with landowners and farmers at the Show.

Haf Leyshon, co-ordinator for the Wildfire in Wales campaign, says:

“The recent surge in wildfires which we have seen happening across Wales in the past week is an indicator of the pressures we may face in Wales with Climate Change predictions. Hotter, dryer summers coupled with a landscape with high fuel loading is of great concern and is highlighted as a high risk within the Climate Change Risk Assessment for Wales published in 2021.