Documentary
WILD WELSH FIRE
Who’s burning the hills?
A natural science documentary exploring the practice of controlled burning
On the 18th of march 2010 the mountainside along the Sychnant pass in North Wales was on fire, the roads were blocked and 60 firefighters were trying to control the blaze, but it was too late for most of the wildlife already as the fire had consumed most of the hill side and had completely burnt a nature reserve that was on the hill top. The firefighters were now trying to stop it from reaching a local village and by 7 o’clock that evening, over 10 hours since it started they managed to get most of it under control, the only part of the mountain left ablaze was near the top and didn’t have access to much fuel. Happy that the worst part was over the firefighters started to go home, but at 9.30pm they were called back. The fire had re-ignited and was now threatening a local woods and many more houses, an almost all night battle commenced with the firefighters preventing the fire from reaching the woods and eventually putting it out completely at around 8 in the morning. The cost of this huge operation, over £100,000, The overall cost to the natural landscape is uncertain, with some people arguing that it is beneficial and others only seeing destruction, but one this is certain, controlled burning is still going on, as more of these fires lose control and take out large areas of country side we look at the science and facts behind these burns, and ask the questions,
- ·Is it really necessary?
- ·What is the real cost’s and benefits?
- ·Why is it done?
- ·Who is doing it?
- ·What happens when they get out of control?
This documentary will be a 60min presenter led piece aimed at BBC Wales and S4C, it will be bilingual with the presenter filming in both Welsh and English, the interviews will be bi-lingual depending on the languages spoken by the interviewee. For the English version all Welsh interviews will have subtitles and in the Welsh version the English interviews will be subtitled.
We will be talking to firefighters, natural scientists, hill walkers, government officials, locals and farmers to paint a complete picture of what happens when the Welsh hills burn. We will be looking at area’s that have had recent burns and also areas where fires have occurred in the past to see how the landscape has regenerated. I will be investigating the impact on the wildlife and the fauna, and also looking at how it effect’s the local area and what it cost’s the economy
This documentary will be aimed primarily at a Welsh market and also at a wider natural science and wildlife audience. The main interest groups will come from people who live in areas affected by these fires and also people who have been affected directly by these fires while visiting or working in these areas. This covers quite a large area of Wales, as there are problems with wild fires in both South and North Wales
There seems to be a lack of understanding from people affected by these fires with different views cropping up about the damage done, most people only see the immediate devastation but are unaware of the benefits the fire might have. We aim to inform and educate our audience about these fires
As an experienced filmmaker living in an area directly effected by this burning, I am extremely interested in what happens during and after these fires and why they are carried out. I have already secured access to areas recently effected by fires and have carried out interviews with numerous people who have been effected as well, I am in discussion with Bangor University Natural Science Department about running various experiments on the burnt land and would be looking for production and development funding to take this documentary to completion,
The BBC had this quote from a Conwy spokesperson
“Fires like these place tremendous pressure on resources, with fire fighters often tied up for a considerable length of time trying to bring these fires under control,” she said. She added that many incidents occur as a result of controlled burning by landowners getting out of control and affecting large areas of gorse and bracken.
“Quite often these fires happen in areas where access is extremely difficult and water supply is limited,” she said.
To reduce such instances the fire service wants landowners to contact them before they start a controlled burn. There are also guidelines for a controlled burn, including making sure there are sufficient people and equipment to control the fire. Wind direction should also be checked to ensure there is no risk to property, roads and wildlife.
“It is illegal to leave a fire unattended or to have too few people to control it,” the spokeswoman said.
“Always ensure a fire is completely out before you leave it, and check next day to ensure it has not reignited.”
Why are landowners allowed to carry out these burns?
