Recently, on the evening of Monday 15th April,
fire crews from Selby, Acomb, Tadcaster, Huntington and York were called to
Skipwith Common NNR at 16:58pm, to tackle a fire which had broken out on the main
heathland in front of the bomb bay viewing area. The quick and excellent
response from the fire services, aided by staff from Escrick Park Estate and
our own team, saved the site from extensive damage.
The fire
was fuelled by the tinder dry grass and heather, and further encouraged by strong
and gusting winds. In total approximately 40,000 square metres of the most
mature heather on site has been lost, with damage also to fencing, stock
handling equipment and the easy access viewing platform over-looking the
heath. The morning after the fire our team returned to dampen down
smouldering hot spots to prevent further flare ups, and have returned over
recent weeks to start replacing fence posts, and area and stock pens to make the
heath stock proof.
We’ve also been busy with our volunteers repairing damage to
the post and rail fencing by the viewing area, and the burnt section of the
viewing platform. Many thanks to everyone involved for their great efforts in
responding directly to the fire itself, but also with the tidy up and repairs - a great team effort. Whilst it was sad to see we had lost
some snakes, frogs and a Teal’s nest in the blaze, it should hopefully be a relatively
short-term loss.
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