For four days the country has held its breath as one of the biggest fires in living memory spreads across Saddleworth Moor.
Scenes reminiscent of apocalyptic Hollywood films have unfolded in Greater Manchester as smoke chokes the city and firefighters bravely fight to keep flames barely 200 meters from people’s homes under control. By the time this piece is published, the damage is sure to be greater still.
The emergency services and an army of volunteers in Greater Manchester have worked tirelessly to protect the city from the inferno, through the night and the scorching heat of the day on the treacherous terrain of the moor.
Their actions and advice—and the swift decision to evacuate homes—have without doubt prevented even greater suffering.
It is astonishing but sadly not surprising their fight had until the fourth day been all but widely ignored by national media.
First and foremost, it is essential that the emergency services and residents of Greater Manchester get the support they need at this terrifying time.
With the army already on standby, it was welcome to see Theresa May confirm at PMQs that contingency support is available if needed.
But the Government must not delay. With police in the area declaring the fire a ‘major incident’ it is clear a crises has already beset Manchester.
Reflections will be necessary
When the flames have passed, there will be time for reflection on what caused this fire, and why it spread at such a rate and so close to people’s homes. When that time comes, we must be vigilant not to let those in power overlook the huge environmental factors at play.It would be a betrayal of those affected by the fire to ignore that it happened in the middle of a heat wave.
In March this year, Green Party staff were stranded overnight on trains stuck in snow as they battled to ‘Spring’ Conference. Two months later, the UK recorded the hottest May since records began.
We also cannot ignore the fact climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent, and worse when they occur.
Last year my colleague Caroline Lucas was accused of “lacking humanity” for talking about climate change in relation to Hurricane Irma. But as she said then, these are precisely the times we must.
How we use our moorland
Of course, as residents who live in the homes overlooking Saddleworth know, fires on the moor are not unheard of. As an area where driven grouse shooting has taken place for decades, Saddleworth has long seen moorland burning used to manage the landscape.While the practice is good for grouse shooting, mounting evidence shows it has a hugely detrimental effect on the environment.
As well as impacting the hydrology of moors, burning destroys wildlife and devastates delicate ecosystems which hold them in balance.
Acting for the future
So while the first step to help those affected by the Saddleworth fire must be to ensure they have the support they need, there are steps we can take to mitigate against future disasters.That is why protecting the moorland environment for the future must start as soon as the flames have passed.
An immediate end to driven grouse shooting and moorland burning, and a firm commitment to letting nature take care of itself by rewilding greater portions of moorland, are the only ways to truly restore these habitats.
In the longer term, it is time the Government matched its green rhetoric with bold action on climate change.
If it does not, we are likely to see more frequent and more extreme weather events at home and across the world, allowing fires like this one to more readily take hold.
