Scottish Natural Heritage has claimed an increase in fires being left unattended in a Mearns nature reserve is a “recipe for disaster”.
The flurry of fires in St Cyrus National Nature Reserve (NNR) in recent weeks has lead to calls for visitors not to light any fires as current conditions have made the reserve like a “matchstick”.
One incident on Monday even needed the fire service to be called after a camp fire was abandoned near some driftwood and dry material started to spread uncontrollably, heading toward grassland.
A scramble ensued as St Cyrus NNR staff fought to keep it from spreading, using buckets of water and a fire extinguisher until firefighters arrived.
The attending firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control before it became too large to handle. No one was injured, but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) team has warned that they may not be so lucky if it happens again.
In a social media post, St Cyrus NNR said the hot weather and increasing frequency of people leaving fires unattended is a “recipe for disaster” .
The post originally laid out four rules for people to obey – including not lighting fires near vegetation – but the SNH have now gone further and called for a blanket ban on fires and barbecues in the area.
Therese Alampo, SNH reserve manager at St Cyrus NNR, said: “The recent spell of good weather has been great for getting outdoors to enjoy Scotland’s nature and St Cyrus NNR is a fantastic place for people to do that.
“It has also made things tinder dry and there is a serious risk of wildfires – as we have seen with many fires across the country caused by incidents where people have accidentally set fire to the vegetation.
“We have recently had a serious incident where someone accidentally set fire to driftwood on the foreshore. The fire brigade, staff and volunteers managed to prevent this fire from becoming worse.
“We are currently asking people not to light fires and not to use barbecues on the reserve at all, to help us keep the reserve safe.”
