National Risk Register/National Resilience Update - Nothing new to us.

[GreyCat]

What happened to fire beaters? I remember as a kid, you would go out in the country, and sure enough, there would be a rack with fire beaters in. Gone. Probably Health & Safety...

I also remember racks of them in forestry..... back when forestry was properly managed.... ya know, fire breaks and tidy....

As the saying goes, never attributive to malevolence what can best be explained by incompetence. Poor rubbish collection, people tossing fag ends around, broken glass - just general lack of countryside maintenance (you should see some over the central reservations down here - tinder boxes).

Bit of both really. The fires in south Wales Vslleys are usually arson. Others may be from utter brainless "I don't care a fig about anyone I am having my fun" types with e.g. disposable BBQs......

Maintenance: I remember a couple or three years ago looking at a big stand of forestry on Leckwith Hill near Cardiff, the firebreak was not maintained and was growing natural regenerated scrub and small trees, to make it worse a power line runs up the middle of it. Would need heavy kit and/or a big herd of goats to sort it now.

I am told that quite a bit of forestry in mid/west Wales e.g. the Brechfa was from when the Forestry Commission compulsory purchased land just after WW2, forced farmers out and planted onifers. They are less useful now we import such wood and plantations are managed a lot less..... so higher fire risk.

Carmarthenshire does mow the verges, but the more urbem local authorities seem not to. (I guess we have a lot of relatively cheap persons with tractors who can do it.)

Sounds deliberate to me: Tell the Police now. Ask they or the Council to tell, not ask , the landowner to cut the field now - its an unacceptable health and fire hazard, and there are indications/possible deliberate fire starting.

Can the path be temporarily closed to the public, resident access only? Same as they do with road works so the legal provisions already exist.
Depending upon how many homes back onto this path a residents group may get some interest (or self-interest!) - a standard invite letter pointing out the current risks posted up a few times along the path, a common Whatsapp group they can join and post comments about any sus person seen on the path, local power/water etc happenings. etc. Offers of surplus produce, making fire brooms, etc etc.

The fact that there is one, or appears to be one, can scare off strangers or rein in errant neighbours/kids. Besides all the social good and getting to know your neighbours it can generate.
We have one for our road. It works quite well despite there being a distinct middle/working class social division/difference.

It seems barking mad not to cut, however the problem is now that cutting is also a risk if there's a spark from the blades hitting a stone, perhaps the landowner does not have a water bowser. If they missed cutting before it was proper dry, they may now be in a "damned if you do, damed if you dont" situation...... In which case a digger to create a firebreak trench is prob the best option.....

Local vigilance is about the only thing. Sadly.

GC

 

[Pattree]

…… I don’t care how many times I received it.

The system worked!
​

Next time it might be a toxic gas emission.

I’ll keep the channel open thank you.

 

[HorseGuy]

There appears to be a new TikTok challenge to ‘set fire to as much stuff as possible’.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/farmers-warned-over-suspected-tiktok-11093483

 

[HorseGuy]

It was sounded a second time, and that was unnecessary because news and social media were all over it by then. That’s what will lead to people turning the notification off.

I didn’t receive either despite my phone having the alert active. But then I kind of knew it was a bit dry about the place at the moment.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/15/public-opt-out-alerts-government-wildfire-warning/

 

[Falstaff]

Mr Burnham might be more wary in future of such requests (apparently from the Fire Service,.... may be) having had his fingers burnt by this one (intentional pun).

Some remarkably dumb jobsworth civil servant effectively downgraded a UK-wide National Emergency Notice, by confusing a national emergency notice with "a duty to promote Welsh language" being thought more important.
If somebody shouts "Watch out! Duck! " in English, will they leave their head up ?.... (Don't answer that in print, it is a rhetorical question, but any answer might genuinely be deemed illegal.)

In some weak defence of UK government competence. There are a large, nay huge, number of bad actors both within and outside of the country, trying to undermine them and cause strife, confusion and negativity in the population, for their own various reasons. Sadly this includes many within our US ally country and their rapacious commercial interests.

 

[Falstaff]

It seems barking mad not to cut, however the problem is now that cutting is also a risk if there's a spark from the blades hitting a stone, perhaps the landowner does not have a water bowser. In which case a digger to create a firebreak trench is prob the best option.....

It's a hay field, so if used previously for hay, then the risk of stones and sparking is fairly minimal but still exists. I've never seen a water bowser in attendance at hay cutting, nice idea though.
As this is a safety issue not farming, then they must cut, but might ask the fire service to attend whilst cutting back near the houses. Thereafter it would be a standard stubble fire if sparked.
A fire break trench for an uncut field would have to be a huge width, or plough it all in. Either way, the field is ruined for next year growing a hay crop.

 

[nigelp]

The number of people saying they didn't read the alert - yeah right! If you didn't get it then fair enough but if it popped up, you read it.

Turned off those alerts.

 

[Woody girl]

Turned off those alerts.

I guess that, as with me, we read the first line, and thought, "oh for goodness sake," or words to that effect, and switched it off. I certainly did not more than that.
To my mind, it was ridiculous, and not what the system is for.
If it was a test of the system, we should have known, as before, and it should have stated that.
Now many will just switch it off in settings or ignore it. Way to go eh?

 

[grainweevil]

I also got the alert three times within an hour and a half.

First one my stomach dropped and I thought "Oh no, what terrible calamity has befallen us?" - read it and was unimpressed, then went to reassure the parrots.

Second one my stomach dropped again and I thought "Oh my, something actually terrible has happened *as well*" - scanned the first line and was angry. Then went to tell the parrots my opinion of the idiot or idiots who thought this was a justifiable use for the system at all.

By third one I dropped a glass (luckily only a couple of inches into the washing up bowl), swore loudly, and didn't read it.

In hindsight that third *could* have been something else that really did justify an emergency alert, but that didn't occur to me until much, much later, because the damage had been done. My perception of the importance of the alert has been eroded just like that. And I'm a rule following goody-two-shoes, so I'm not a bit surprised the more goody-shoe-challenged are looking to disable it entirely.

 

[GeraldTheBonsai]

The National risk register identifies several scenarios where I think there would be a justified reason to send out some sort of alert, most likely regionally. However, as reported in several media outlets, this recent exercise has just undermined trust in the system, with many people now just turning off the alerts. As such, its achieved exactly the opposite of what it was intended for.

I can sort of understand how this response by the public can seem confusing to those who believe that the State needs to intervene to the degree that it does in our lives. I personally have had opinions expresses to me that, by adopting a self resilience stance, I am almost undermining the "good intentions" of the state. I guess its a personal perspective but I, for one, intend to trust my own judgement. Governments of late have all tended to adopt as sort of "nudge" policy, to shape public behaviour. I'll pass on that.

 

[Pattree]

Seriously!!!!!

It worked.

If you choose to ignore a fire alarm or CO alarm that’s up to you. This is just the same. Nine times out of ten it’s the curry that triggered it. It’s the tenth that counts so you check every time. You don’t take the battery out (do you?)

Such a brief interruption, so potentially important, so many many words.

I don’t need to read them here in BcUK they are all over the front page of the Daily Mail.

 

[nigelp]

I guess that, as with me, we read the first line, and thought, "oh for goodness sake," or words to that effect, and switched it off. I certainly did not more than that.
To my mind, it was ridiculous, and not what the system is for.
If it was a test of the system, we should have known, as before, and it should have stated that.
Now many will just switch it off in settings or ignore it. Way to go eh?

I turned the alerts off in system preferences when they installed them. Having seen the messages that have come through I don’t feel the need to switch them back on.
The last one was ridiculous and pointless and has been widely misunderstood with people phoning 999 to report neighbours using a barbecue. I’ve been told quite seriously that it means I can’t use a gas stove because they have been banned (they have not). I asked, even a Trangia, with a gas adapter on a table, with a fire blanket and an extinguisher (yes I do have those in my little camper), on a campsite! Muppets - people just miss being told what to do, where to go and how to do like in Covid times. Grassing up the neighbours like Fire STASI.
They should save the alert for life threatening local events that need immediate action.

 

[nigelp]

Seriously!!!!!

It worked.

If you choose to ignore a fire alarm or CO alarm that’s up to you. This is just the same. Nine times out of ten it’s the curry that triggered it. It’s the tenth that counts so you check every time. You don’t take the battery out (do you?)

Such a brief interruption, so potentially important, so many many words.

I don’t need to read them here in BcUK they are all over the front page of the Daily Mail.

I don’t ignore fire alarms and CO alarms - have one in my camper and take one when I use a wood burner in my winter shelter. I am one of those people that if in an unfamiliar property checks where the exits are and the like. I certainly don’t need a national alert to tell me to be careful and not start a wild fire. We just had a one of the largest fires in living memory across the forest with thick smoke spreading across the area - no local alert for that!
Daily Mail, would not even use it to wipe my ……

 

[Falstaff]

"I personally have had opinions expresses to me that, by adopting a self resilience stance, I am almost undermining the "good intentions" of the state" GC

On the contrary, the state has actually recommended everybody making some self resilience steps to cover potential short term failures of services. (e.g. batteries, torches, water, food etc etc.) until they can be restored.

I do understand Pattree's frustration, it is daft not to read/take regard of such warnings, but complacency is a common fault of human nature.
However, whilst it indisputably worked for him in his area, I don't think it did so more widely. I heard no discussion or mention of it on radio, TV or by neighbours, friends etc until Woody Girl's post well afterwards. Anything political is usually pretty rapidly picked up by the media, but on this, nothing.

 

[Falstaff]

I might have raised some wry smiles at the Bush Moot, being seen carrying my smallish bright red fire extinguisher from my van to live with my small encampment for the duration.

 

[Pattree]

@Falstaff Me too Mind You it looks much the same as my Trangia meths bottle!

@nigelp

Daily Mail, would not even use it to wipe my …

Neither would I, and that’s my point.

With the DM there to do all the alarmist naysaying and populist criticism of everything why do we need to emulate it here on BcUK?

 

[GreyCat]

There appears to be a new TikTok challenge to ‘set fire to as much stuff as possible’.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/farmers-warned-over-suspected-tiktok-11093483

Words fail me. I cannot really put my thoughts about what should be done to the perpetrators (both inciters and doers) of such stupidity, but lets say that it is rather robust.....

I turned the alerts off in system preferences when they installed them. Having seen the messages that have come through I don’t feel the need to switch them back on.
The last one was ridiculous and pointless and has been widely misunderstood with people phoning 999 to report neighbours using a barbecue. I’ve been told quite seriously that it means I can’t use a gas stove because they have been banned (they have not). I asked, even a Trangia, with a gas adapter on a table, with a fire blanket and an extinguisher (yes I do have those in my little camper), on a campsite! Muppets - people just miss being told what to do, where to go and how to do like in Covid times. Grassing up the neighbours like Fire STASI.
They should save the alert for life threatening local events that need immediate action.

I am afraid I disagree about not telling people what (not) to do. But then, I live in Wales, where we have 200 military personnel helping the south and mid Wales fire brigades to stop wildfires from reaching houses..... yeah so it's gone off the front pages now the big town-adjacent ones in England are under control, but it's still a real issue here.

Take a look: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/new-wildfires-flare-up-firefighters-34439811

Many fire services have been helping support south and mid Wales including brigades from London and Cumbria. It's desperate, particularly bearing in mind that south Wales is one of the best prepared for wildfires, but even they are being overwhelmed.

Everyone on our road on the hill is twitchy at the first smell of smoke. The chap down the road rightly called 999 the other day because someone upwind had a big fire- probably a builders bonfire- which was rather concerning. Over the top? Stasi? Maybe some think so, but we don't. Only a few years ago someone doing something similar that set the whole hillside alight. All it takes is one spark from an out of control BBQ or fire.
So yeah, I probably would report a neighbour having a BBQ at the moment, (assuming a "real" BBQ or firepit, not one of those outdoor gas cookers on wheels), or if I saw a muppet on the hillside having an "wild" campfire.

Here's the status in our area as of 10:20 this morning:

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service currently attending six fires
A spokeswoman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service told WalesOnline: "I can confirm that at 9.15am on Sunday, August 16, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews were in attendance at the following incidents."

(Fire location and crews deployed)

Llangynidr wildfire, Talgarth, Ammanford and Hay-on-Wye crews.

Rhandirmwyn wildfire, Tumble, Lampeter, Brecon, Llanwrtyd Wells, Milford Haven, Tregaron, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Whitland and Newtown crews.

Pontarddulais fire in open, Pontarddulais crew.

Gorseinon grass fire, Gorseinon crew.

Llanelli smoke in area, Llanelli crew.

Tenby fire in open, Tenby crew.


GC

 

[nigelp]

You could weep sometimes by the way folk overlook react on this forum.

 

[Woody girl]

Trouble is, we are now edging towards the boy who called Wolf scenario. You know how that ended.

Perhaps that is why the gov recently bought thousands of body bags, and set up a mega mortuary to cope with thousands of mortalities at once.

I don't remember quite so many fires and so much utter devastation in the 76 drought, and many more people smoked in those days so the risk would have been even higher, though im sure there were some fires.

This year has been unprecedented madness. It's huge areas of Europe and North America. I watched a ytube plotting all the fires in these areas.
Along with the volcanos of camp filegre and etna, one would have thought those areas would be totaly destroyed by fire , but they aren't, something isn't right.
Somehow net zero seems a bit of a waste of time with the amount of smoke etc in the atmosphere and destruction of stored carbon.
A good proportion of this is deliberate, im convinced, even if it is oiks doing it. Someone/thing has to beconvincing these people it's a good idea.
Then we need to ask, why would they think destroying vast areas of natural habitat, flora and fauna and farmland be a good thing to do?
Once we start asking those questions instead of just blaming tick tock influencers as idiots, the answers become clear.

 

[GeraldTheBonsai]

Maybe they should add another item to the national risk register : "People Doing Stupid Things"..