Wildfire Wise
Wildfire Wise
The Wales Wildfire Board is calling on farmers, landowners and rural communities across Wales to play their part in reducing the risk of future wildfires as it launches its annual #BurnToProtect campaign.
The launch follows one of the most significant wildfire seasons Wales has experienced. Summer 2026 was Wales' hottest on record and included the driest July ever recorded, creating ideal conditions for wildfire to spread rapidly across the countryside. During July and August, Welsh Fire and Rescue Services declared four major wildfire incidents at Conwy Mountain, Llanwonno Mountain, Llangynidr Reservoir and Rhandirmwyn.
The scale, duration and intensity of these incidents placed unprecedented pressure not only on emergency services, but also on partner agencies, local communities, farmers and landowners who found themselves on the frontline of the response. Welsh Fire and Rescue Services received mutual aid from neighbouring English Fire and Rescue Services, while in South Wales, military assistance was deployed to help support operations. Communities across Wales experienced disruption and uncertainty, farmers and landowners saw large areas of land affected, valuable habitats were damaged and, in some cases, families experienced the devastating loss of property.
Recognising that controlled burning remains an important land management tool when undertaken responsibly, the Wales Wildfire Board is encouraging those planning burns this season to work closely with their local Fire and Rescue Service, Natural Resources Wales, farming unions and other partners.
Farmers and landowners can burn heather, grass, bracken and gorse from 1 October until 15 March each year, extending until 31 March in upland areas. However, anyone intending to undertake a controlled burn should ensure a burn plan is in place and that all appropriate precautions have been taken.
As part of the #BurnToProtect campaign, the Wales Wildfire Board is reminding landowners of some simple but important safety advice:
Notify your local Fire and Rescue Service before undertaking a controlled burn. (North Wales - 01931 522 006 )
Ensure you have sufficient people and equipment available to control the fire.
Check weather conditions and wind direction before lighting any fire.
Consider nearby properties, roads, livestock, habitats and wildlife.
If a fire gets out of control, contact the Fire and Rescue Service immediately and provide accurate location details.
Never leave a fire unattended.
Ensure any fire is fully extinguished before leaving the site and revisit the area afterwards to check for reignition.
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.
Since January 2022 to January 2024 Fire and Rescue Service’s in Wales attended 5111 grassfire incidents, with 1232 of these incidents happening in mid and west Wales Service area.
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.
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 easy access for all partners, contributors and stakeholders to the #WildfireWise campaign 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, Twitter, 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,