17: The Burning Issue: 3.7 million

Wildfires are evolving. Around the world they are becoming bigger, burning hotter, and harder to control with devastating impacts on humans, the economy and the environment. In this episode, Alice and Sue talk to UKCEH wildfire scientist Dr Douglas Kelley who outlines the causes of this change, drawing on examples from California and the Pantanal, the worlds’ largest tropical wetland.  Closer to home, it has been a record year for wildfires in the UK. Alice catches up with Station Commander and Wildfire Tactical Adviser Andy Elliott from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. They visit Holt Heath National Nature Reserve in Dorset, the site of a fierce large scale blaze in August. Andy reveals that, due to the fire’s intensity, the lowland heath landscape may take up to 30 years to recover.  Hosts: Sue Nelson and Alice HopeProducer: Rachael BuchananCounting the Earth is a Boffin Media Production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.Find out more: UKCEH press release on the State of Wildfires report. The State of Wildfires project, including the latest report.  The State of Wildfires project is co-led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, University of East Anglia, the Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The National Fire Chiefs Council Wildfire Aware campaign.