National Park pilots system to protect landscape and livestock

Northumberland National Park Authority is working with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service and TMS Europe to trial an automated wildfire detection system.

The pilot, which is the first of its kind in the UK, will take place on the Debdon Hills, near Rothbury, overlooking the Simonside Special Area of Conservation. This area has high level protection due to the important habitat and species found there.

Dry springs and summers have led to a number of wildfires across the heather moorland of the National Park.

The wildfires destroy the irreplaceable peat soils, which burn down to the bedrock. They also kill and damage the forests, heather, game and wildlife living on the soils.

The system to be piloted is an innovative method based on a hybrid system currently used in waste bunkers of inflammable material. It uses infrared cameras that will be mounted on an existing mast and each camera will be capable of detecting wildfires over approximately 50,000 acres of the park.

Any detection of heat will trigger an alarm, where an operator from a remote site can train the infrared camera and live view camera on the identified area to determine if it is a wildfire, before contacting the Fire and Rescue Services.

The system is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, including temperature variations between -20ºC and +35ºC.

The results of the pilot will be shared with local, national and international stakeholders. If it is successful, expansion across a larger geographical area of the National Park will be considered.

Jennifer Hewitson, Project Coordinator, said: “In an area of high landscape and habitat value it’s important that we take steps to lessen the impact of hotter drier summers and the increasing risks of wildfire.”

The project has been made possible thanks to a grant from Northumberland Uplands Leader through its independent local panel, the NULeader Local Action Group.

Images courtesy of Northumberland National Park Authority