'Unprecedented moor fire to last for two weeks'

The fire broke out on Langdale Moor on 11 August

A moorland fire has been described as "quite unprecedented" for North Yorkshire, as the fire service predicted it would be ongoing for a further two weeks.

The blaze broke out on Langdale Moor, near the ballistic missile early warning base at RAF Fylingdales, on Monday 11 August and is now covering around 5 to 8 sq km.

A major incident was declared last Wednesday, when there were 19 appliances at the scene, but this has since been scaled down to five appliances a day, and that number will remain there until Monday.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service area manager Ben Illsley thanked crews for being a "constant presence on the scene" for 10 days to tackle the fire that has left many parts "completely perished".

He said: "I would like to take this opportunity to praise our brilliant crews, officers, control and support staff, whose sustained effort and skills during this effort have been incredible."

Mr Illsley said the fire had been contained and was no longer spreading.

He said the latest challenge had been previously unexploded devices that were found on the site.

"Over the last eight days, approximately 16 emissions have gone off on the moor," he said.

A major incident was declared after the fire broke out early last week

"Since the first discovery last Wednesday, we've found more unexploded ordnance objects so we're still being very cautious and treating it like a major incident, as there may still be areas with buried emissions."

Mr Illsley reiterated that people living nearby should keep their windows and doors closed, especially as smoke would still linger in the area over the next few days.

He said that despite the fire being scaled down, the service was still treating it as a major incident that was being reviewed daily.

"I'm very hopeful we'll get to a point in the next few days where we will be monitoring the hotspots and gradually phase down our response levels, but until then we don't want to get complacent and will still treat it as a major incident," he said.

A helicopter has been used to drop water on the area

Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor of York and North Yorkshire for Policing, Fire and Crime, also thanked people working in other fire and rescue services including Humberside, West Yorkshire and Cleveland, who have offered support.

She added: "Employers across our region who have released their staff to undertake on-call and volunteer firefighter duties, and the farmers and land managers who have stepped up and offered support, we're incredibly grateful for your help and support."

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