Work to restore New Forest wildfire site gets under way

New Forest wildfire restoration work begins Image source, Forestry England Image caption, Forestry England said its specialist teams had reported the first green shoots of recovery By Jo Couzens South of England Published 50 minutes ago Restoration work has begun at the site of a devastating wildfire in a national park. More than 1 sq km (247 acres) of the New Forest was destroyed after a fire spread from a blazing van on 9 August. The fire caused damage to rare heathland and an ancient woodland, as well as burning through a surface layer of peat in some of the boggy areas, reducing their ability to store carbon.

Forestry England said it had begun a long-term project to help nature return to the affected area, with specialist teams starting work to protect the most vulnerable areas ahead of winter and helping to reseed areas of heather. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Watch: The fire started in a van on the A31 The agency, which is responsible for managing publicly owned forests in England, said the blaze spread across the heathland, removing all the plants on the surface before travelling underground to destroy layers of roots and seed banks.

At its height, the fire closed the A31 - a major tourist and commuter route between Hampshire and Dorset - for nearly two weeks. It came during an exceptionally busy summer for Hampshire and Isle of Wight firefighters, and is estimated to have cost the fire service £600,000 . Forestry England's Dave Morris said: "The scene immediately after the fire had gone through this part of the forest is something I will never forget." Image source, Forestry England Image caption, Trees were scorched to the ground, plants destroyed and soil burned through Morris added: "Large areas were reduced to piles of charcoal, burnt soils and torched trees.

At that time, it was difficult to imagine it would ever fully return to a place where nature could thrive. "Undeterred, our specialist staff immediately got to work to see how we could help the area recover." Heather full of seed was harvested from nearby parts of the forest and has been spread across the worst-affected parts of the fire site to form a "protective mat" and encourage new plants to grow. Forestry England used the same technique after part of the New Forest was destroyed by a previous wildfire in 1989.

"Almost 40 years later, this area is now thriving and has been fully restored," it said. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Aerial footage showed the scale of the damage caused by the fire Teams are also looking at ways to protect the vulnerable roots of ancient beech and oak trees damaged in this summer's fire. The boggy areas of the fire site sustained the least damage, acting as a barrier to help slow the blaze from moving more widely across forest, and have recovered the quickest.

"The fire has reminded us that nature is remarkably resilient and in the boggy parts of the fire area we can already see plants and wildlife returning," said Morris. "It will take many decades for the area burnt by the fire to recover completely but, with the right help at the right time, we can give it the helping hand it needs." Get in touch Your Voice Contact form Contact form Related topics Hampshire & Isle of Wight Environment Wildfires Nature Conservation Dorset Ringwood More on this story New Forest wildfire cost estimated at £600,000 Published 10 October Wildlife and ancient trees destroyed by A31 wildfire Published 21 August 'Adrenaline got us through New Forest wildfire' Published 9 September Related internet links Forestry England Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service