Morris added: “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.”
Heather full of seed was harvested from nearby parts of the forest and has been spread across the worst-affected parts of the fire site to form a “protective mat” and encourage new plants to grow.
Forestry England used the same technique after part of the New Forest was destroyed by a previous wildfire in 1989.
“Almost 40 years later, this area is now thriving and has been fully restored,” it said.
