Restoration work begins at site of New Forest wildfire

6 November 2026

Restoration work begins at site of New Forest wildfire

Specialist team report first green shoots of recovery  

Forestry England has begun restoration work at the site of this summer’s large wildfire in the New Forest. It’s team are protecting the most vulnerable areas as winter approaches and helping to reseed areas of heather. 

The New Forest wildfire in August destroyed over 80 hectares including rare heathland and damaged an ancient woodland where trees have been standing for many hundreds of years. The fire also burnt a surface layer of peat in some of the boggy areas reducing their ability to store carbon. 

Since then, a specialist team from Forestry England have been assessing the damage and begun a long-term project to help nature return to the affected area.  

The blaze spread across the heathland removing all of the plants on the surface before travelling under the ground to destroy layers of roots and seed banks. Many areas were left with very little top soil and stripped back to gravel. The team were concerned these would erode further in winter conditions and that new plants would struggle to germinate come spring. 

To help protect the area, heather full of seed has been harvested from nearby parts of the Forest and spread across the worst affected parts of the fire site. It is hoped this protective mat will help prevent further damage to the fragile ground during the winter and, as seeds from it drop down into the ground, it will encourage new plants to begin to grow. 

The same technique was used by Forestry England at part of the New Forest destroyed by a wildfire in 1989. Almost forty years later this area is now thriving and has been fully restored. 

The ancient beech and oak trees damaged by the fire are being surveyed and closely monitored. The fire exposed their root systems that would usually be mainly below ground, heightening the risk of damage and infection. Many trees also have large burnt sections within their trunks. The team are exploring ways to protect these vulnerable roots and will track the health of the trees in spring based on their ability to produce leaves and new growth. 

The boggy areas of the fire site were the least impacted by the fire and acted as a barrier helping to slow it moving more widely across the New Forest. These areas have been the quickest to naturally recover with molinia grasses and other plants already starting to return.  

Forestry England has been restoring wetlands across the New Forest over the last 15 years to ensure these areas can hold and store water duringperiods of drought. It plans to boost this work over the coming years to help the Forest as a whole become more resilient to wildfire and extreme weather. 

Dave Morris, Open Habitats Manager at Forestry England said: 

“The scene immediately after the fire had gone through this part of the forest is something I will never forget. Large areas were reduced to piles of charcoal, burnt soils and torched trees. At that time, it was difficult to imagine it would ever fully return to a place where nature could thrive. 

“Undeterred, our specialist staff immediately got to work to see how we could help the area recover. We had to act quickly, cutting and laying heather this autumn whilst it still had seed and before the worsening weather really took hold. 

“The fire has reminded us that nature is remarkably resilient and in the boggy parts of the fire area we can already see plants and wildlife returning. The wildfire demonstrated just how important it is that we continue our work across the Forest to restore wetlands, ensuring they can store and hold more water. It is clearly one of the best ways to make the New Forest more resilient to droughts, wildfires and extreme weather.” 

It will take many decades for the area burnt by the fire to recover completely but with the right help, at the right time, we can give it the helping hand it needs.”