Be fire aware

• Bring a picnic, only barbecue at home, not the countryside
• Take all your litter home
• Don't have barbecues or fires on or near the moors
• Don't smoke on or near the moors
• Take note of signage during times of heightened wildfire risk
• Share the messages of wildfire prevention

• Phone 999 if you spot a suspected wildfire – don’t assume someone else has reported it
• Move to a place of safety – moorland fires can spread quickly and travel underground

Peatland in good condition has a high water table (ground water is close to the surface) which helps to reduce the risk of it catching light. But much of the peatland in the Peak District and South Pennines is much drier than it ought to be and the dry peat will burn. Fire can spread below the surface before re-emerging and igniting the surface vegetation. Dry weather and strong winds may mean fire moves quickly across the surface of the moor, burning everything in its path.

Moorland fires start easily with just the smallest flame or heat source. Barbeques, campfires, cigarettes and even glass bottles can ignite peat quickly.. Visitors enjoying the moors may not realise that they have started a fire. Although they put their fire out, the underground layers of peat may have caught alight. It can continue to burn, unseen, underground for days or weeks before re-emerging to ignite the surface.

Did you know?

• The moorlands of the Peak District and South Pennines are of global environmental importance, but the frequency of moorland wildfires appears to be increasing as a result of climate change.
• Moorland fires devastate wildlife. A wildfire destroys everything in its path, from birds and animals to plants. The height of wildfire risk (spring) is also the time when many moorland birds nest on the ground. In April 2025, the peatland fire at the Goyt Valley destroyed approximately 160 hectares of moorland (approximately 224 football pitches), including the nests and eggs of precious ground-nesting birds.
• They harm our resilience to climate change and its effects, including flooding and droughts.
• They can burn through the peat layer and release carbon into the atmosphere, adding to climate change. A 2018 fire on the Roaches, near Leek in Staffordshire, released over 11,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), equivalent to running 1,426 homes (a town the size of Bakewell) for one year.
• Putting out a wildfire is difficult and expensive. They can spread quickly and burn into the peat, spreading underground before re-emerging elsewhere.
• Putting out a wildfire can endanger the lives of fire officers and rangers who are tasked with extinguishing them.
• Millions of pounds are being spent on the moors to make them more resilient to climate change, reduce carbon loss, slow the flow of water, improve water quality, and make them better habitats for wildlife. A wildfire can undo all this good work in hours.