On Sunday 7th April, a significant proportion of heathland at Allerthorpe Common was damaged through fire. We are therefore requesting that visitors avoid the reserve for the next few months, so that we can carry out maintenance work and allow the heath time to regrow and recover.
In this instance, a small fire - part of standard site management practice - caught on the breeze and rapidly spread, despite precautions designed to prevent this. We are very grateful to the Fire Service, who attended quickly and did a brilliant job in putting the fire out. Thankfully all staff and volunteers are safe and well.
We believe that the correct procedures and practices were followed on the day, and that this was simply an unfortunate accident. We will, however, undertake a full review to ensure that nothing more could have been done, and how to best avoid this happening again. With an unusually dry winter after a hot summer, there was always a risk.
Because the fire occurred in early spring, there is every reason to expect that Allerthorpe Common will recover well. Please bear this in mind if visiting the area.