Winter Hill struggling to recover six years on from wildfire

The Winter Hill fire, which started as separate incidents, combined to create a massive blaze which saw more than 100 firefighters from Greater Manchester, Lancashire and other teams working day and night for 41 days from when the fire was reported near the television mast on Thursday, June 28, 2018.

A major incident was declared by the weekend, with water company United Utilities scrambling a helicopter to pour hundreds of gallons of water on the fire.

Despite efforts, the fire destroyed a third of the 1,700 acre site – including plants and trees, with animals dispersed and the moorland charred.

A new survey, conducted by the Woodland Trust, shows that while vegetation is recovering, the area’s peatland is going to take longer to recover, with a complex restoration project under way.

Smithills site manager Oliver Stainthorpe of the Woodland Trust said: “During the fire, all the peat mass was damaged in some way and on average 20cm of peat was completely lost and burnt away. Still, there are no signs of this recovering.

“The grim reality is that it is take something like 200 years to regenerate the peat to how it was.

"It shows the damage catastrophic events – which are more likely due to climate change – can have on nature.

“But it is not all doom and gloom – nature is bouncing back in some ways – there has been much recovery from plants and animals and our survey will help us to shape the future recovery and restoration of the complex environment under the ground.”

Surveyors marked out squares for the project (Image: Katie Thompson/Woodland Trust) Surveying the moorland involves looking at squares, measured two metres by two metres, and charting wildlife and flora. So far, they have found many different species, including purple moor grass, turfed hair grass, wavy hair grass, mat grass, and sphagnum moss – described as the ‘sponge of the moorland’.

Bird species including meadow pipits, kestrels, and skylarks have also been spotted by surveyors.

Volunteers measure peat beneath the ground by using metre-long probing sticks to work out the best restoration methods for the land, the Woodland Trust said.

Teams are also using technology including geographic information software and maps to find out where drains had been constructed during the industrial era.

Teams found plants including sphagnum moss had started to recover - but the area's peatland was still struggling (Image: Katie Thompson/Woodland Trust)

Originally created to provide water, the drains have a negative impact on the health of the moorland, the Trust said. The hope is to retain water on the moors.

Mr Stainthorpe added: “Our key aim is the restoration of the site – Smithills is blessed with a mosaic of habitats –peatlands and uplands oak woodland and upland wet woodland. Improved heathlands will increase local biodiversity, capture carbon, and decrease flood risk.

“As well as restoration, we must try protecting the site from such a devastating incident occurring again – this summer we have had volunteers doing fire patrols to detect any threats.

“Nature can bounce back but the damage caused from such a catastrophic event can take hundreds of years to overcome.”