It is brilliant that there is a growing number of ‘Smokey Bears’ calling in sightings of fire or smoke …
Even with a lot of local knowledge these two pictures can be really hard to geolocate – and even harder still if we don’t know exactly where you are and which way you’re looking …
But THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember is that if the incident (fire / smoke / BBQ etc) needs emergency services attention please dial 999 BEFORE informing a ranger.
One quick and FREE way of finding your location and the direction you’re looking in is via the free @ordnancesurvey OS Locate app.
It’ll give you your location (as a UK grid reference – please set this to 8 digits in Settings), and the compass will point at the incident (if you point your phone at it 😉).
When sharing your location just screen grab the app screen and send as a photo
Oh, and please report incidents promptly (not when you get back to your car).
Wherever you normally go outdoors to recreate maybe consider doing a bit of research to find out the phone number for e.g. the local Ranger Base, National Park Office, Estate Managers Office or Nature Reserve Centre and add them to your phone.
And ALWAYS remember what Smokey Bear says ….
