Skip the barbecue, grab a pasty: Cornwall’s wildfire warning

Thinking of firing up the barbecue on the cliffs this week? Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service would rather you packed a pasty instead.

With warm, dry weather forecast and a hosepipe ban already in force across the county, the service has asked residents and visitors to be extra careful with anything that could spark a blaze on tinder-dry ground.

Why the warning has come now

Cornwall’s heaths, dunes and clifftops dry out fast in a hot spell, and the current mix of sunshine and drought conditions has left the landscape ready to catch. The photographs shared by crews show the aftermath of exactly that, with scorched gorse, blackened branches and smoke drifting across a headland where green growth used to be.

A single disposable barbecue, an untended campfire or a carelessly dropped cigarette can be all it takes. Once flames take hold in dry vegetation they move across open ground fast, putting wildlife, walkers and homes at risk and tying up crews who may be needed elsewhere.

📷Credit: Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

What the fire service is asking

The advice from the fire service is short and practical. To cut the risk of a wildfire during the warm spell, it wants people to:

• Avoid barbecues or lighting fires of any kind, especially in or near areas that are already dry.
• Always make sure cigarettes are completely extinguished before they are thrown away.

The plea comes under the service’s #WildfireAware banner, a reminder that most of the fires crews are called to on open ground start with something small and avoidable.

Or, as the service put it: pack a picnic, or better still, grab a pasty from your local baker.

📷Credit: Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service