09/08/2026
AN OPEN LETTER FROM OUR COMMUNITY
To whoever is lighting fires on our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
We don’t know who you are. We don’t know whether you think it’s funny, whether it’s something to do because you’re bored, or whether you simply haven’t stopped to think about what happens after you walk away.
But we are asking you to stop.
These places belong to all of us. They are where families walk, children play, people exercise their dogs and generations of local people have made memories.
When you deliberately start a fire, you have absolutely no control over what happens next.
A small flame can become a serious fire frighteningly quickly. Wind can change direction. Dry grass and vegetation can ignite rapidly. And suddenly you could find yourself trapped by the very fire you started.
But it isn’t only your life you are risking.
Every time firefighters are called to deal with one of these fires, crews and equipment are committed to an incident that should never have happened.
While they are tackling a deliberately started fire on our hills, somewhere else a serious road accident could happen. A house could catch fire. Someone could be trapped. A family could be waiting desperately for help.
That person could be someone you know.
It could be your mum or dad. Your brother or sister. Your grandparents. Your best friend.
Our firefighters will always respond to emergencies and do everything they can to protect us. But their resources are not unlimited. Nobody should be creating unnecessary emergencies that place even more pressure on the people we rely on when the worst happens.
And think about the firefighters themselves.
They are walking into intense heat and smoke to put right something somebody else deliberately started. They have families waiting for them at home too.
Then there is the damage left behind.
Wildlife cannot simply pack up and leave. Habitats that have taken years to establish can be destroyed in minutes. Large areas of countryside can be blackened and damaged because of one reckless decision.
Perhaps you haven’t thought about all of that before.
So this isn’t about threatening you or calling you names.
It is about asking you to think.
The next time you are standing there with a lighter or a match, before you create that first flame, think about everything that could follow it.
Think about the firefighter who will have to walk towards it.
Think about the animals that cannot escape it.
Think about the family somewhere else who might desperately need those emergency crews.
And think about your own family receiving the phone call that something has happened to you.
Whatever satisfaction you get from starting a fire cannot possibly be worth any of that.
Cannock Chase and Hednesford Hills are part of our home.
Please stop setting fire to them.
Not because somebody is telling you what to do.
Because one day the consequences could be far greater than you ever intended.
From the people who live here, walk here, work here and care about this place.
Our community.