'Fires in the open will be more prevalent earlier in the year' warns senior Shropshire fire officer after spate of blazes
A senior officer says fires in the open are likely to become more common and prevalent in the region - especially during the year's earlier months.
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Marc Millward's warning came after several multiple fire crews battled a large open fire involving two-and-a-half hectares of forest land in south Shropshire last weekend.
The Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has seen a spate of open fires throughout March and April so far - where the weather has been mostly dry and warm - and the service's incident log has been littered with incidents involving fires in the open across the county - large and small.
Crews have been called to several incidents in Shropshire's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty including at the Long Mynd, as well as smaller grass fires and fires involving trees.
In its Community Risk Management Plan for 2025 to 2028, the fire service has outlined responding to the climate impact and environment as a priority with severe flooding becoming more common in the winter months as well as open fires in the drier periods.
Mr Millward, head of service delivery at the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said he has noticed an increase in open fires.
He said: "The evidence is out there to suggest that climate change is having an impact and we have certainly referenced that in our new community risk management plan that we are seeing some extreme weather events whether that be flooding or longer, drier and hotter spells. We are also seeing it out of season as well.
"Traditionally when we wouldn't have expected to have the number of open fires that we are having, it is now becoming more frequent. I would suggest that the trend is more towards fires in the open will be more prevalent earlier in the year.
