Moorland fire to burn 'for a number of days'

The fire is burning on land near RAF Fylingdales on the North York Moors

A moorland fire on an old military range in the North York Moors National Park will continue to burn "for a number of days", according to the fire service.

The fire broke out on Langdale Moor, near the ballistic missile early warning base at RAF Fylingdales, on Monday evening.

Fire service area manager Ben Illsley said crews had been removed from the moorland as a precaution after four previously unexploded devices went off on Wednesday.

Although firefighters were a significant distance from the explosions, they had adopted a "defensive containment" approach from the perimeter instead, he said.

At its peak on Wednesday, 19 fire appliances were at the scene and a major incident was declared due to the number of resources needed.

Currently, there are 11 fire appliances in attendance with a contained 5 sq km (three sq miles) of moorland involved.

There are no evacuation orders in place but people have been asked to avoid the area and residents should keep their windows and doors closed due to the amount of smoke in the area.

Mr Illsley said: "A lot of the ground that is involved in the fire is heavily peaty so it does burn for a considerable time.

"Our expectations... are that the fire will continue to burn for a number of days.

"There is less visible flame on scene today but there is masses of energy within that peatland that will burn for a number of days now, generating smoke to that area."

Operations currently include a helicopter and drone to monitor the fire aerially and specialist wildfire capabilities.

Farmers have also volunteered their machinery and helped to dig trenches and provide water to stop the blaze spreading.

The fire service said the cause had not yet been determined but an investigation was taking place.

Mr Illsley added "an amazing amount of work" had been put in to keeping the fire away from RAF Fylingdales while the wind blew towards the base.

It has now changed direction, he confirmed.

The fire covers an area of about 5 sq km, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said

Alison Hume, Labour MP for Scarborough and Whitby, thanked firefighters for their hard work.

She said: "It's been four long, hot days with changing wind direction and difficult terrain. My thoughts are with them.

"The fire is a great concern to me and all of my constituents.

"Those of us who live in Whitby or nearby will be very aware about the huge amount of smoke and the drop in air quality."

She added: "There's a plan to withdraw any non-North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue appliances today.

"We've been really helped by neighbouring services coming in but it looks like that won't be needed going forward.

"The military are going to sweep the moorland growth to help with the firebreak strategy. This is all going to come down to firebreaks.

"I understand that helicopters will be dropping water today on the affected areas and that's really good news that will help massively, because this area is quite difficult to access.

"It's a serious situation but as of today, it's looking more hopeful."

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) said its heritage steam train services would be suspended until further notice, with diesel locomotives running instead.

It also said it would delay the start of the Tornado services that were due to run from Friday to Sunday.

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