Open Country - Caz Graham keeps the fires from burning in Northumberland

Over the centuries nature has been shaped by the forces of wind, water and man. But one other force that's helped to create much of the sweeping vistas in places like Northumberland is also one of the more dangerous -- fire. Since the Bronze Age, fire has been used as a land management tool. In the last decade, these same land managers have noticed that fire has become more foe than friend. Wild fires have increased with the drier summers and a recent report for the country's Emergency Services say that this will only get worse. Problem is, none of the fire services in the country have been specially trained to deal with wild fires. In Northumberland, they're changing that. The Northumberland Fire Group is a partnership involving game keepers, land mangers, the National Park Service, the Fire and Rescue Service and others. Its aim is to provide comprehensive training and coverage to the county's hundreds of thousands of acres of open moor land. Caz meets some of the main players from the group, including Ethan Bigalow, an American fire fighter from the US Forestry Service, brought in especially to train people on how fighting a fire in a rural area open differs from dealing with one the city.