Meltham Moor fire likely started by BBQ as fire service remind people not to take them on the moorland
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are renewing their calls to not take a barbeque onto moorland - after they reveal it's likely the cause of the Meltham Moor fire
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging people not to take barbeques onto the moorland as they revealed that the likely cause of a huge moorland fire was a disposable cooker.
Dozens of crews supported by local land managers and rangers have spent three days, on Meltham Moor tackling a wildfire that required five fire appliances, five wildfire units and three all-terrain vehicles at its peak.
Now firefighters have confirmed that they found a barbeque at the suspected point of origin of the fire.
Lead Wildfire Officer Richard Hawley said: “When we initially deployed onto the moor we found several seats of fire, with a disposable barbeque nearby. While we can’t confirm 100% that this was the cause, it does seem a likely reason. This wildfire has been extremely difficult to control due to the large quantity of fuel, fire supportive weather and challenging terrain.”
"Moorland fires can spread quickly and flare up again, due to the fire being ‘deep seated in the peat’ which means that even if it appears the flames are out, significant heat remains under the moorland.
"This incident was made more difficult as the location of the fire was miles away from any water sources, meaning crews had to run several kilometres of hose, in full protective equipment to reach it."
Richard also said: “The crews have worked so hard – we’ve had around 50 firefighters up there – it’s been a tough job. Moorland fires always require a big resource, which means firefighters and fire engines are taken away from their local station area. We can manage this thanks to careful coordination from our brilliant control room operators, but it’s not an ideal situation for anyone across West Yorkshire.
“We really want people to enjoy our beautiful countryside, especially when the weather is so lovely, and the schools are broken up – but we are reminding people not to ever take barbeques onto our moorland.
Take a picnic, have fun, but be responsible! As you can see, one barbeque caused so much devastation – it’s not worth it.”
Richard Bailey - Coordinator for the Peak District Moorland Group said: “We are all relieved to at last see some better summer weather at last, but please heed the messaging of #BeMoorAware even with all the rain and sodden ground conditions, the vegetation has dried out and coupled with large outbreaks of heather beetle damage, which has left much of our heather lacking sap, a dropped match or BBQ can spell disaster for our moorland areas. All visitors need to be aware of the dangers of summer wildfires, any anti-social activities should be reported immediately.”