Forest of Bowland Gamekeeper Forced to Extinguish Fire Left Burning by Sleeping Visitors

A gamekeeper working in the Forest of Bowland has been called upon to put out a fire abandoned by visitors who went to sleep with the flames still burning, sparking renewed concern about public understanding of wildfire risk on the moors.

The Forest of Bowland Moorland Group, which shared news of the incident on social media, highlighted that fire risk across the area is currently rated Amber, leaving habitats vulnerable to rapid ignition and the surrounding landscape just one step away from the most serious Red warning level.

A single abandoned campfire, disposable barbecue or discarded cigarette can ignite vegetation in seconds. Once a moorland wildfire takes hold it can spread rapidly across vast areas, destroying nesting sites, killing wildlife, releasing stored carbon from peat soils and threatening rural livelihoods.

Gamekeepers play a central role in protecting the moors from this threat. With their detailed knowledge of the terrain and their year-round presence on the ground, they are often the first line of defence when a fire breaks out, preventing small incidents from escalating into large-scale disasters.

The Forest of Bowland Moorland Group is urging visitors to follow basic countryside safety practice during the current period of heightened risk. This means no campfires, no barbecues and no naked flames of any kind on or near moorland. Cigarettes should be extinguished fully and disposed of safely, and any sign of smoke or fire should be reported to the emergency services without delay.

The moors of the Forest of Bowland support some of England's most important upland habitats and are home to nationally significant populations of breeding birds. Protecting these landscapes is a shared responsibility, and incidents like this serve as a reminder that public behaviour during the wildfire season matters every bit as much as the work of those who manage the land year-round.