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Fire destroys part of nature reserve

Fire damage at Blackstone Farm Fields by Andy Harris

A fire swept across two fields of Blackstone Farm Fields on 12th July.

On July 12th a fire unfortunately swept across two fields of our Blackstone Farm Fields nature reserve, adjacent to The Devil’s Spittleful between Bewdley and Kidderminster.

The fire destroyed around two hectares of acid grassland that was being restored to heathland and burnt 75m of hedge, some young oaks and hawthorns and over 300m of fencing.

Having witnessed numerous fires that have been caused by trains passing through this landscape and, given that the fire spread from the railway line outwards, this fire was also likely caused by the nearby steam railway. Thankfully, the swift attendance of the fire service contained the fire before it spread to a much wider area.

Aside from the physical damage to fences, the fire has set back our heathland restoration in these fields, burning locally-rare species such as hare’s-foot clover and cudweed that had been returning to this corner of the reserve. It is possible that birds nesting in the hedge will have been impacted as well as rare insects, such as lesser-streaked shieldbugs, Adonis ladybirds and nests of black mining bees, all recorded in this area and which may have been unable to escape in time.

Similarly of concern was the nearby presence of a grazing flock of sheep that would have been at high risk if the fire had not been contained so quickly. The loss of two hectares of grassland will also reduce the hay crop that would have been taken to feed the conservation grazing herd of cattle over winter; this will require us to buy in more feed for the winter to replace it.

A burnt hedge at Blackstone Farm Fields with ash on the ground beneath it

Burnt hedge at Blackstone Farm Fields by Andy Harris

All told we estimate the likely financial cost to be around £2,500. This does not include the many hundreds of hours from staff and volunteers over the last 20 years to encourage the restoration of heathland, an effort that may have been set back several years.

We can, however, be grateful that the wind direction was such that the fire did not start on The Devil’s Spittleful where the ecological impact would have been much more severe and it would have been harder to get fire engines on site. Had the area been bigger and in this more sensitive area, the cost to wildlife would have been so much worse.

While this is clearly heartbreaking, we will use this opportunity to talk to the Severn Valley Railway and Worcestershire Fire Service to see what further action can be taken to reduce the fire risk. We are also accelerating our plans for fire mitigation as part of our management of the site. We are grateful that the Severn Valley Railway have currently suspended the use of steam trains until the fire risk reduces.

The fire also serves as a timely reminder for all visitors to our sites and to the wider countryside that, particularly during hot conditions, every care must be taken not to create fire risks, whether that is through the use of barbeques, careless disposal of cigarettes or other sources of ignition. Please take extra care and avoid such uses on nature reserves, especially when vegetation is so dry. 

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