Unburnt parts of Mincinglake Valley Park are open, but Devon Wildlife Trust asks visitors to keep off the badly burnt ground. 700 metres of fencing was lost.

Parts of Mincinglake Valley Park that escaped the 11 August wildfire are open again for walkers, and Devon Wildlife Trust is now asking people to stay off the badly burnt ground rather than to keep away from the whole site. That is a change from the advice issued in the days after the fire, when the Trust asked visitors to avoid the park altogether. (Devon Wildlife Trust, Community response provides hope for valley park after wildfire, 19 August 2026)

The Trust and Exeter City Council have also put numbers on some of the damage for the first time. Along with the habitat, the fire destroyed 700 metres of fencing and visitor infrastructure across the 50 acres of park and neighbouring farmland that burned. No cause has been identified. A full report from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is expected in the coming weeks. (Exeter City Council, 18 August 2026)

Mincinglake Valley Park after the 11 August 2026 wildfire: about 50 acres of park and farmland burnt, 700 metres of fencing destroyed, no cause yet identified, a Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service report expected in the coming weeks, unburnt parts of the park open with visitors asked to avoid badly burnt ground, and a damage survey to be followed by a recovery plan. Sources: Devon Wildlife Trust and Exeter City Council.
Graphic by The Exeter Times.

What the survey found

Staff from the Trust and the council have been on site working out what was lost. The fire ran through grassland, scrub and hedgerow, which the Trust lists as the homes of songbirds, butterflies, moths, harvest mice and field voles. The land is managed by the Trust on behalf of Exeter City Council, and a stretch of privately owned land inside the park’s boundary was badly damaged too.

Matt Boydell, the Trust’s Land Manager, said the loss of habitat and of a place people use “for their daily walk, early morning run or an hour of birdwatching” was hard to see, but that “nature is incredibly resilient, given time and support it will return over the coming weeks and months and, in a few years, will once again be a thriving wildlife-rich area”.

He asked for patience while the survey is finished: “When this is complete, we’ll be working with Exeter City Council to put in place a longer-term recovery plan, and to begin the work of restoring this much-loved urban green space as a place for the local community and wildlife. It’s during this phase that community support will be critical.”

Cllr Duncan Wood, the council’s Lead Councillor with responsibility for public realm management, called the valley parks “the city’s green lungs” and said the community’s reaction had been heartening.

Offers of help, and a fund

The Trust says it has had “many generous offers of support from the local community” since the fire. It has not yet said what practical help it will need, because that depends on the survey. Updates and details of how people can get involved will go out through the Trust’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Money can be given now. The Trust has set up a wildfire fund to pay for restoring the landscapes hit by this summer’s fires, reached through the “Donate to the wildfire fund” button on its home page. It covers both Exeter fires: Mincinglake, and the smaller one at Barley Valley Park in the Redhills area five days earlier.

What it means for you

You can walk in the park again, on the unburnt side. The Trust’s position is that parts of Mincinglake escaped the fire and are open to visit, and that people should avoid the badly burnt areas for the time being. There is still no date for the burnt ground reopening, and the fencing loss is one reason: 700 metres of it is gone.

Do not expect the cause soon. The fire service’s full report is weeks away, and neither the Trust nor the council is speculating in the meantime.

The fire risk has not gone. The Trust manages 60 nature reserves across Devon and is asking people to be, in its phrase, “wildfire aware”. Matt Boydell said: “A scorching summer has left our landscapes parched and vulnerable. BBQs, campfires, fireworks, cigarettes, even litter can bring about wildfires. We all need to be vigilant and if anyone spots fire or smoke they should call the emergency services immediately on 999.”

We reported the fire itself, including the fire service’s own incident log and the 23 stations that attended, in Mincinglake Valley Park fire: 50 acres burnt. We will report the fire service’s findings and the recovery plan when they are published.

Sources