‘We fear Rhodes inferno could happen at Lickey Hills Country Park’
Volunteers have demanded action to reduce the risk of wildfires at one of Birmingham’s most popular beauty spots where a huge blaze forced residents from their homes 12 months ago. With temperatures expected to rise in August after July’s washouts, the Lickey Hills Society[1] said more needed to be done to safeguard the park – or run the risk of potential fatalities.
Last year, a devastating fire swept across more than 400 sq metres of the Hills which, according to fire crews on scene, was sparked by a disposable barbecue[2]. Hot ash also blew across the park which caused another fire, forcing 15 people – including four children – to flee their homes nearby due to the amount of smoke that engulfed the vicinity of the Rose Hill Road[3] area in Rednal.
A year on from one of the biggest fires the park had ever seen, Lickey Hills[4] Society secretary Baden Carlson said Birmingham City Council[5] – which owns and maintains the country park – should be doing more to educate and protect park-users given the devastating scenes in Rhodes this week.
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The 77-year-old said: “We’re really concerned because it’s been a year since that huge fire at Lickey Hills and there’s been nothing done to safeguard the park. We lost 80 trees because of that fire last year. The rangers are keen and dedicated but we need to see higher publicity of the risk of wildfires and the dos and don’ts. We need a wildfire policy in place and a mobile group of fire wardens protecting the park.
“People can say it’s wet at the moment so we’ll be alright now but the weather will get warmer this summer. We’ve seen how quickly fires can just engulf, look at Greece at the moment. Lickey Hills was very similar last summer and we’re talking about the potential loss of lives.”
The former teacher added: “The rangers at Lickey Hills are stretched but, this summer already, there’s been a dozen fires, a lot of them that haven’t made the news. Fires are near-enough constant here when it’s warm and dry.”
Birmingham City Council’s environment chief Majid Mahmood said: “We have plans for many years for dealing with the risk of fires at the Lickey Hills – and following last year’s devastating incident, our plans were reviewed, with the wider local and national approach to such incidents also considered as well as consultation with Hereford and Worcester Fire Service.
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“Given that prolonged periods of hot dry weather are increasingly common, this year we have upped our public messaging on safe park use, to warn and inform of what irresponsible behaviour can cause at any of our parks or open spaces. The message is clear – fires and barbecues are banned at all city parks.
“We’ve also lobbied the Government to ban disposable barbecues. They encourage a throwaway culture which is at odds with efforts to minimise waste, they put our natural environment at risk and ultimately do more harm than good. We are continuing to push this case hard and hope that we do not have to use fresh case studies to underline our point.”
Earlier this summer, 50 firefighters responded to six fires inside Sutton Park within the space of a week. Speaking at the time, councillor David Pears, chair of the Sutton Park advisory committee, said: “I’m really concerned about it. Repeated fires in the park. They seem deliberate to me.
“We have some peaty areas and fires put out can come back. This is wanton damage. You can’t have barbecues in the park. People need to be cautious and vigilant.
“The odd fire occasionally in one small spot the park can recover. But persistent burning takes some time to recover. And it costs.” He reminded visitors of key rules to avoid fires: “No barbecues, don’t drop litter, particularly glass bottles that can spark fires.”
References
- ^ Lickey Hills Society (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ disposable barbecue (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Rose Hill Road (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Lickey Hills (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham City Council (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Midlands’ worst places to live where you’re most likely to be a victim of crime – mapped (www.birminghammail.co.uk)