NI Water bans lighting BBQs and open fires at its sites, including Silent Valley
Following the long, dry spell of weather, NI Water has introduced a temporary ban on the lighting of barbeques or open fires across its publicly accessible sites, including at Silent Valley Mountain Park with immediate effect.
The decision comes after the Natural Hazards Partnership announced an amber wildfire risk for last week, dissipating yesterday but increasing again to amber from today.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) spent two weeks battling hundreds of wildfires across Northern Ireland during a spell of good weather last month.
The Silent Valley Mountain Park was badly affected at that time with green shoots of recovery from the Mournes restoration work after the 2021 wildfires destroyed,xa0flora and fauna scorched and species diversity reduced.xa0
Patricia McKee, facilities senior manager at NI Water, said:xa0“Wildfires not only pose a risk to human life, wildlife and the environment but also our drinking water catchment areas.
“Activities such as littering, using disposable BBQs and burning waste increases the risk of wildfires, so special care must be taken.
“The ban on lighting BBQs and fires at our sites is a temporary precautionary measure which has been put in place to ensure the safety of our community, wildlife and surrounding environment.
“We have prepared an advisory note which Silent Valley guards will issue to visitors as they arrive. Information will also be available across our social media channels, the NI Water website including:
www.niwater.com/silent-valley.
“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun but we all need to work together to protect this precious area of outstanding natural beauty and stop a repeat of last month’s devastating wildfires.
“The situation will be reviewed at the end of May and updates will be provided accordingly.
“In the meantime, we’re reminding visitors they should not light BBQs or fires in or around our sites and we would like to thank everyone for their understanding, patience and co-operation at this time.”
Some do’s and don’ts:
- Do not light fires in and around forests or open land
- Do not attempt to intervene or fight fires under any circumstances;
- If you see a fire, gather all family/group members and move to a safe fuel-free location such as a car park, upwind of the fire
- Telephone the NI Fire and Rescue Service on 999 and report the fire and its location
- Evacuate if instructed to do so, and cooperate with all Emergency Service Instructions
- If you see someone deliberately setting fires, report it to the PSNI immediately as it is a criminal offence
Some friendly advice when enjoying your time in the countryside:
- Leave no trace; please take your rubbish with you
- Never fly-tip waste material
- Extinguish cigarettes and other flammable materials properly
- Never throw cigarette ends out of car windows
- Avoid using open fires.
