Call for New Forest campsites to ban open flames
It is as crews have spent the week dealing with a major wildfire
The New Forest National Park Authority is backing a move by Forestry England to ban barbecues, outdoor cooking equipment and firepits from its campsites during the current wildfire incident.
The Authority is now contacting all private campsites in the area - asking them to sign up to do the same.
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) banning BBQs and fires in the open New Forest countryside, as well as petting and feeding free-roaming animals, are already in place in the National Park after being introduced in 2023 and extended in 2026.
More than 50 retailers also backed the #BBQFreeNewForest campaign to ban the sale of disposable BBQs started in 2020.
Now the Authority is asking private campsites to follow suit in the hot weather.
It has been revealed that while fighting the wildfire, FE and firefighters attended two small additional fires on the Forest caused by abandoned campfires.
FE rangers also attended an incident where the use of a BBQ on the Forest had started a fire.
They say that although the current wildfire incident was caused by a vehicle fire on the A31, having naked flames in the outdoors is extremely dangerous, particularly at a time of drought and extremely high wildfire alert.