Adapting to Wildfire: A Practical Guide for Businesses

Wildfire is no longer a risk confined to southern Europe or warmer climates around the world. Recent fires on Saddleworth Moor, at Rivington Pike, and in South Wales have demonstrated that moorland and upland landscapes can ignite and spread with alarming speed during dry periods. 

For businesses located near grassland, heathland or unmanaged vegetation, the threat is real and growing – with the consequences extending far beyond the immediate danger of the fire itself. We’ve laid out this practical guide to help businesses prepare for the impacts of wildfires and minimise the effect on your operational continuity.

What are the risks of wildfire to your business?

The first step is to understand your business’ exposure to wildfires, based on location and surroundings. Sites near open moorland, scrubland, or even overgrown railway embankments are significantly more vulnerable to rapid fire spread. Embers can travel considerable distances, meaning that even far-off fires can threaten buildings, storage areas and critical infrastructure. The condition of surrounding land can also make a difference, with dry or dead vegetation acting as fuel. Poorly maintained boundaries can greatly increase the likelihood of fire reaching your premises.

The risk to business extends beyond the direct threat of fire, too. A fire may force temporary site closure or evacuation for the safety of staff, bringing production to a halt. Even if your site escapes direct damage, transport routes may be closed, supply chains interrupted, and access for employees, customers and deliveries compromised. Evacuation orders can last for extended periods while emergency services manage incidents and ensure areas are safe.

How can your business assess wildfire risk?

As with all risk assessments, start by examining your site-level wildfire risk.

• Review the proximity of your premises to high-risk landscapes
• Map the direction from which fire is most likely to approach
• Identify vulnerable outside assets, such as stored materials or vehicle compounds

Consider how these risks might be protected or producing a plan to quickly relocate them in the event of an escalating threat.

Managing vegetation and reducing fuel load is one of the most effective measures you can take. Remove dry or dead vegetation, clear accumulated leaf litter, and dispose of combustible waste materials regularly. Maintain a defensible space around buildings by keeping grass short, pruning back overhanging branches, and creating fire breaks where possible. Poorly managed vegetation significantly increases the speed and intensity of fire spread, so routine grounds maintenance should be treated as a risk reduction activity as well as an aesthetic concern.

Fire risk and business continuity planning

Your business will likely already have its own set of fire safety policy and procedures. Many standard plans address accidental internal fires but fail to account for an external fire approaching the site boundary. Update your plans to explicitly account for wildfires, including evacuation procedures, shutdown protocols for plant and equipment, and the steps required to check and resume operations once the danger has passed. Consider how you would operate if the site were inaccessible for days, or even weeks in the case of an emergency.

Emergency response and staff engagement

Strengthening emergency response capability is an important part of putting these policies in place. Install and maintain appropriate fire extinguishers and suppression systems and ensure that access to water is clearly marked and unobstructed. Develop and rehearse a wildfire-specific emergency plan, as you would a regular fire drill, so that all staff know their roles and the sequence of actions to take when a threat emerges.

Train your staff to understand the specific nature of wildfire risks – how it spreads, how quickly conditions to change, and the early warning signs to look out for. During high-risk periods, monitor Met Office weather alerts and local fire service warnings, and be prepared to activate your plan at short notice.

Wildfire insurance and financial resilience

Finally, review your insurance and financial resilience. Confirm that your policy covers wildfire damage and business interruption and speak to your broker about any potential cost implications or coverage restrictions. The time to discover a gap in your cover is not when the moorland is already burning.

How Green Economy can help

Green Economy offers climate adaptation advice and guidance for businesses - our specialist consultants will work with you to identify risks, plan preventative measures and insulate your business against the impacts of extreme weather events. If you'd like to explore how we can help your business, get in touch.