CLA Cymru member recounts supporting fire services to fight wildfires
A South Wales land management contracting business, Cwm Agricultural Ltd, spent weeks over the summer supporting South Wales Fire and Rescue Service who were fighting wildfires across the region. Their specialist knowledge and equipment enabled fire crews to operate in locations which would otherwise have been inaccessible, as Managing Director Simon Cook explains.
Cwm Agricultural Ltd, who provide forestry, land management and peatland restoration services supported fire crews by enabling access to remote locations and getting ahead of fires to prevent them spreading. By cutting new paths through foliage and forestry and transporting water onto mountain tops using bowsers (specialist vehicles with tanks, pumps and hoses), Cwm Agricultural Ltd supported fire crews while they battled the wildfires across the region. They also dug trenches and cut through vegetation to create fire and fuel breaks which helped contain the fires.
Cwm Agricultural Ltd were collaborating with a wide range of organisations in these efforts. They worked under the command of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service alongside firefighters brought in from as far away as Kent and Cumbria. During working days that sometimes ran to 15 hours, Cwm Agricultural Ltd had to react quickly to the developing situation, as fires spread underground through burning peat, with previously extinguished fires suddenly re-lighting.
Simon reflects that future land management will have to focus more on firebreaks to avoid a repeat of this summer’s wildfires. This will involve incorporating firebreaks at the planning stage of new commercial forestry and woodland plantations alongside regularly maintaining existing firebreaks to ensure they are free of vegetation that could act as fuel for fires or block fire crews’ access. Re-wetting peatland will also play a role by preventing the underground burning that is common in dry peat.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Cymru echoes these calls. It represents over 3,000 members across Wales, covering 11 million acres, and works tirelessly to protect and shape the future of Wales’ rural landscape. From Welsh agriculture and the regeneration of the rural economy to improving the Welsh planning system, CLA Cymru engages with members at the Senedd and at Westminster to help shape policy.
Fraser McAuley, Senior Policy Adviser at CLA Cymru, emphasised that farmers and land managers can play a key role in mitigating and reducing the risk of wildfires alongside Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and the emergency services. This can include reducing fuel load through sufficient grazing and cutting of firebreaks, support for peatland restoration, and advice and guidance to the public on reducing the risk of igniting wildfires. CLA Cymru is looking forward to working with all stakeholders on this key issue at the Welsh Government wildfire summit on 22 October.
