A total of 18 wartime bombs have exploded as firefighters continue to tackle blaze on North Yorkshire moors
Firefighters tackling a massive blaze in the North Yorkshire moors have been hampered by 18 exploding wartime bombs.
Crews have been working to put out a wildfire on Langdale Moor, in the North York Moors National Park, since the evening on Monday, August 11.
A major incident was declared by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue two weeks ago. A total of 18 bombs have exploded as the fire burns through peat on the moors which was used for tank training in WW2.
Meanwhile, firefighters from across the country are arriving in North Yorkshire as backup for crews who have been battling a huge moorland blaze for more than two weeks.
Shocking photographs show smoke blanketing the moors, as firefighters struggle to battle changing winds which have caused the blaze to grow across large areas.
At a media briefing held on Wednesday, chief fire officer Jonathan Dyson said 10 fire appliances and around 60 firefighters were battling the blaze, with helicopters used to create ‘wet brakes’ to try to prevent the spread. The fire chief added that the fire effort had been hampered by unexploded World War Two bombs.
He said: “We had to adopt a very defensive firefighting strategy in one of the key sectors due to finding unexploded ordinance. As the peat continues to burn down it’s finding the World War Two ordinance and therefore exploding.
“We have experienced now over 18 ordinance explosions within key areas. Understandably, our firefighting tactics can only be defensive in those areas.”
In response to a question, he later added: “We were made aware possibly around 24 hours or more into the incident that part of the land we were firefighting on was an old World War Two tank training area. Therefore that had the potential to have unexploded ordnance underneath or on the site.
“The MOD gave the assurance that they’d done the initial cleaning of the site, but then anything which is subsurface or significantly subsurface has still been maintained. As it’s burned down through the peat, that’s when it’s ignited. We’ve had reports of 18 ordnance explosions within there, noting they can be of various sizes and the weight of the explosions.”
Fire crews, farmers and gamekeepers have been working together to tackle the fire at Langdale Moor, on the North York Moors, which has closed roads, a campsite and diverted coast-to-coast walkers. On Thursday North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said it had requested backup from the Fire National Resilience, with extra firefighters starting to arrive in the area.
A spokesperson said: “These include 10 additional fire engines and crews and specialist resources from other fire and rescue services to assist us with dealing with the incident and to allow our crews to have some rest.”
The service said the extra crews were going to a holding area in Pickering where they could be deployed to the incident ground, and that people in the town may see additional emergency service vehicles in the area. It said crews were continuing their efforts to contain the fire, with 10 fire engines and specialist vehicles still at the scene.
A helicopter is also being used to help put out the blaze. The fire service urged people to avoid the area and not travel there to take photos and drone footage. They said anyone required to evacuate would be contacted, and anyone affected by smoke should keep their doors and windows closed.