I don’t know about you, but I worry when someone appears to like fire a little too much. Today was surely one of those days when a little excitement was forgivable. The size of each fire was immense though it was also surprising how quickly each fire burnt down. Presumably many of you are asking why it was necessary to burn all this wood instead of mulching it or similar? This was definitely a question i asked too and the answer was pretty simple. Willows propagate so easily and are such an insidious pest that even small sections of branch or root are able to begin growing. It was for this reason that the Catchment Management Authority were fastidious in cleaning up the site and it is also for this reason that there will be a lot of ongoing work removing small willow plants that pop up before the native species get going again.