Firefighters declare major incident: North Yorkshire's Langdale Moor wildfire near RAF Fylingdales early warning station rages on
A wildfire near to an RAF base has been declared a ‘major incident’ as firefighters continue to battle the blaze spread over five square kilometres.
Firefighters in North Yorkshire declared a major incident on Wednesday (August 13) after a moor fire near an RAF base spread over five square kilometres, with 20 pumps attending. Crews were called on Monday evening (August 11) at around 6.30pm to reports of smoke in the area and found the fire had “jumped the fire break put in place previously” and maintained a watching brief overnight.
However, with the fire showing no signs of abating, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) has been fighting the blaze on Langdale Moor, close to the RAF Fylingdales early warning station, since Tuesday morning (August 12). Drone footage shared by the fire service shows smoke billowing from the massive blaze.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said crews remain at the scene of the fire and will be there for "some time". They are advising people to avoid the area if possible and for residents nearby to keep windows and doors closed.
Speaking to the BBC, NYFRS group manager Tony Peel said there was ‘no timescale whatsoever’ for putting out the fire but he expected the fire to die down overnight and that fire fighters would have a new plan on Thursday to tackle the blaze.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has also suspended some of its steam services due to the wildfire. The railway is currently running diesel-hauled services between Pickering and Grosmont. The decision to suspend steam services was taken to reduce the risk of lineside fires and support emergency services responding to the wildfire.
A spokesperson for the railway said: “Due to the prolonged hot weather and recent fires elsewhere in the county which have meant firefighting resources have been more stretched, we’ve taken the decision to delay the start of the special No. 60163 “Tornado” services set to run on 15th, 16th and 17th August.
“In addition, we’ve switched all of our Pickering to Grosmont standard services to heritage diesel locomotives, and we still aim to run steam-hauled services between Grosmont and Whitby due to the lower fire risk profile.
“The NYMR is doing everything it can to fully cooperate with and support the emergency services, taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our staff, volunteers and passengers, which is always our priority.”
David Skaith, mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and Jo Coles, deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, said in a statement: “We are aware of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s declaration of a major incident for the fire at Langdale Moor and continue to monitor the situation.
“We encourage the public to avoid the area and follow the latest advice from the fire service, which can be found on their website.
“We want to thank the firefighters, emergency service workers and partner agencies for their response to this incident.”