If British Summer Time and warmer days means you will be visiting one of Dorset & Wiltshire’s local heathlands or outdoors spaces to enjoy the wildlife and wilderness, please take a picnic.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) are encouraging residents and visitors to take a picnic and not BBQ. Warmer and breezy weather increases the risk of accidental or deliberate fires in our open spaces. A wildfire can move at speeds faster than an Olympic sprinter, so we are asking people who are out and about to follow some simple steps:

• If you are enjoying our open spaces when a fire occurs, get to a safe place and call 999 with as much information as possible.
• Consider downloading and using What3Words to identify your exact location.
• You can also help by reporting any antisocial behaviour on the heath to the Police on 101. 

During 2021, DWFRS dealt with 494 fires in the open. In 2022, we have already seen large wildfires in Dorset & Wiltshire and firefighters across the UK have dealt with more wildfires between January and May than in the whole of 2021 (243 compared to 237 in 2021).

Area Manager Marc House, Head of Prevention at DWFRS said: “As we move into the summer, with longer daylight hours and warmer weather, understandably more people want to get out and use Dorset & Wiltshire’s natural environments. There is a trend that the number of deliberately set fires and fires caused by BBQs and bonfires in these open spaces, increases.

He added: “I cannot stress enough how important it is to take extra care when enjoying our beautiful open and forestry areas. If you are a smoker, please extinguish them fully before disposing of them responsibly – never ever just throw them away lit, similar to throwing them out from car windows – the result could be 50 or 100 firefighters tackling the subsequent blaze.”

Anyone caught starting a fire on a heath will be prosecuted whether it is a case of deliberate arson or neglect, for example an unauthorised camp fire or a disposable BBQ that gets out of control.  Wildfires cost lives not only to endangered plants and animals but also put people and houses in danger. 

We need your help to protect our countryside. Please #BringAPicnicNotABBQ

Safety first for summer cooking

https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-litter/north-dorset-bin-collection-changes-june-2021.aspx

Key Messages

• Some households in and around North Dorset will have their bin collections changed in early June
• Most won’t notice a difference, but we will write to you in advance if your bin collection days are changing
• Your bins may be emptied by more than one crew at different times on your collection day
• Larger vehicles have separate compartments for different waste types, so rest assured your rubbish/recycling/food waste is still being kept separated
• Our crews often use a “service bin” to gather up food waste or glass – this looks like a regular wheelie bin
• Garden waste and business collections are mostly unaffected by these changes, but we will write to customers separately if their arrangements are changing
• If you suspect one/some of your bins have been missed, please leave them out and wait until 4pm before reporting to us.

If this information doesn’t cover your concerns or you need help responding, please e-mail wasteteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and they’ll be very happy to help.

Have you been affected by groundwater flooding?

The Environment Agency have developed a number of new flood warning areas for communities at risk from groundwater flooding. These complement their existing flood alert areas.

They are working with communities to promote these warning areas and recruit people to sign up for Flood Warnings Direct service.
Please click on the link below to see How can you can sign up to receive these flood warnings?

Environment Agency Groundwater Flood Warning Information January 2016