Quantock Hills Blog
Bank Holiday hot spots
- Patrols over the May bank holiday proved to be most valuable as the hills were pretty busy and conditions were very dry.
Posted by Tim Russell on 09 May 2011
I hooked up with National Trust Ranger Paul Camp for a joint patrol. He is more used to the windswept wilds of Exmoor and was rather ‘blown away’ by the number of visitors making use of the Ramscombe site! We managed to speak to a number of people about sensible use of their BBQs in such dry conditions … Ramscombe is the perfect location for this and indeed, our only official BBQ site in the hills.
This last Monday Bank Holiday I was again meeting up with the National Trust (Head Ranger, Nigel Garnsworthy) at Staple Plain … ironically only a few minutes after commenting how dry the hills were and there being a real fire hazard due to a strong east wind, smoke was seen rising into the sky near Dowsborough Hill Fort. The fire was duly reported to the Fire Service and we arrived on site to assist with directing tackling the wild fire. Crews assisted from Nether Stowey, Cheddar, Dulverton, Minehead and Porlock, bringing specialist off-road vehicles with them. The fire was successfully brought under control but it reminds us how vulnerable the hills are at the moment to illegal fires.
Fires at this time of year are particularly damaging to the sensitive heathland environment and wildlife of the Quantocks. We all need to be particularly vigilant; any fires seen on the hills should be reported to the Fire service.
Fingers crossed we’re gonna get some rain!
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