Scientists comment on wildfires in Scotland and Dorset.
**Dr Rory Hadden, Rushbrook Senior Lecturer in Fire Investigation, University of Edinburgh, said:**
“Fire danger assessments in Scotland are Very High or Extreme. This is not very uncommon at this time of year. In late winter and early spring there is lots of dead vegetation around and living vegetation is dormant. This vegetation dries out very rapidly during periods of low humidity and sunny weather. First of all, fine vegetation will dry out which means these fuels become very easy to ignite. Over time the ground surface also starts to dry which means the fire behaviours start to get more extreme. At the moment predictions are that fires can be easily ignited in the dry vegetation and will spread quite rapidly especially where there is wind. This is quite common at this time of year in the UK and we have seen several examples already.
“Most fires start due to human actions which is why it is important to be considerate when enjoying the nice weather. Do not light fires and take a picnic rather than a barbeque. This will minimise the risk of starting a fire. Even if it looks like a fire is out – smouldering of surface vegetation is hard to detect and may transition to a flaming fire many hours after people have left an area. Better to not even take the risk.
“Fires will eventually be extinguished either by direct firefighting or by the fire service and landowners allowing the fire to spread to be contained by barriers in the landscape. These may be either natural (pockets of wetter ground or where vegetation is sparser) or man-made (roads, fuel breaks).
“These fires are significant as they draw resources from the Fire and Rescue Services and will have impacts on local ecosystems. We need to be able to use these to understand how wildland fire risk is changing in the UK and the scientific community will be learning from these events to help plan and prepare in future.”
**Prof Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Science, Imperial College London, said:**
“April marks the peak of the UK wildfire season. After the winter months, vegetation is dry and flammable, and the rising temperatures in early spring promote the spread rate. These spring wildfires tend to be small in size because they are usually quickly put out by the fire brigade. Another peak in frequency but with much larger wildfires in the UK typically occurs later in the summer, especially during heatwaves when the vegetation is dry again and conditions are more extreme.
“There is much the public can do to help. Growing awareness is key. Learn about wildfire in your local area and wider region. Support your local fire brigades and land managers, ask questions to scientists and experts, and share your concerns with the relevant authorities. A better-informed and engaged public makes a real difference in preventing and managing wildfires.”
**Declared interests**
**Prof Guillermo Rein**: “I declare that I have no conflict of interest.”
For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.