Melted roads and moorland fire:
IT IS a sight more common during a cold snap, but yesterday gritters were scrambled to strengthen roads which began melting in the heatwave.
Local authorities in Cumbria, Lancashire, Doncaster and Hampshire were among those spreading grit into the deteriorating tarmac which had started to stick to car tyres.
Simon Williams, an RAC spokesman, said: “Many motorists could be forgiven for thinking the sight of gritters on the road in the summer is a mirage caused by the heat. But they should actually be relieved councils have taken action, as road surfaces could easily suffer hardto-repair, long-term damage.”
As the hot weather showed no signs of abating, the first official hosepipe ban came into force, in Northern Ireland, while taps ran dry in the Home Counties as water companies said they were struggling to keep the pipe pressure high enough for the increased demand.
Britons enjoyed the hottest temperature of the year for the fourth day in a row on Thursday as the mercury rose to 91.4F (33C) in Porthmadog in Wales. Trains were cancelled in Cumbria and Northern Ireland and speed restrictions put in place in London because railway tracks began to buckle.
The heatwave came as an asthma charity warned that sufferers are at risk of “life-threatening attacks” as the pollen count has reached a 10-year high. Asthma UK urged people to take antihistamines and keep inhalers to hand.
The heatwave is set to continue into the weekend and next week. Saturday could see highs of 84.2F (29C) in England and Scotland, 80.6F (27C) in Northern Ireland and Wales, and predicted highs of around 87.8F (31C) in some parts of the UK by Monday.
The forecast will make bleak reading for firefighters and soldiers battling the fire on Saddleworth Moor in northwest England, as no significant rainfall is forecast in the coming days.
Parts of the moor have been alight for six days, and firefighters say it could take weeks to extinguish.
Yesterday, a row broke out between conservationists and grouse moor estates, who both blamed each other for causing the conditions on the moor which started the fire. Gamekeepers often burn land to get rid of dead heather and provide food and nesting for grouse. Rob Stoneman, chief executive of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “The burning has to stop. Saddleworth conflagration is a direct result.”
Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire’s Moors (BBYM) also said it was “undeniable” that the management of the moorland for grouse shooting had allowed the fire to take hold: “Excessive heather management and draining … has dried out the land, removing the natural fire barriers which come with wetted peat bog.”
However, in a letter in today’s Daily Telegraph, Richard May, who owns and manages three Peak District moors, said it was a lack of burning that caused the problem. “For decades gamekeepers on moorland managed for grouse have burnt heather to reduce combustible biomass, to create firebreaks and improve the habitat wildlife,” he writes. “Most of the Saddleworth moor has not had this level of intervention. Serious debate must be given to prevention over cure – to burning more firebreaks and to providing tracks to deploy fire equipment, water and fire fighters at danger points.”
A new moorland blaze, on Winter
Hill, near Bolton, Lancashire, also started on Thursday, and firefighters are still fighting a fire on the Glenshane Pass in Co Londonderry. Other fires continued to burn in Aberystwyth, and Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve near Southport, Lancs.
Grahame Madge of the Met Office said there was little chance that rain would extinguish any of the blazes: “There is a low probability of showers on Sunday. If they do bring some rainfall it would be in the south-west but that will be very sporadic.”
sir – As the owner and manager of three Peak District moors, I have watched the conflagration at Saddleworth (report, June 29) with gratitude for the selfless efforts of firefighters, but also with horror.
Moorland fires are inevitable, but the resulting damage can and should be limited. For decades gamekeepers on moorland that is managed for grouse have burnt heather to reduce combustible biomass, to create firebreaks and improve the habitat wildlife. Such work, paid for without recourse to the taxpayer, is the reason why Britain’s moorland has been granted Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area status.
Residents lament that “the fire is the worst in living memory” at Saddleworth, where most of the moor has not had this level of intervention. Serious thought must be given to prevention over cure – to burning more firebreaks and providing tracks to deploy fire equipment and water at danger points. The consequences to moorland will be catastrophic unless more proactive management is undertaken. Richard May
Macclesfield, Cheshire