Latest news with #NYFRS
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Crews warn visitors to keep away from Langdale Moor fire
People visiting the scene of a major moorland wildfire to take photos have been asked to stay away, as crews remain at the fire broke out near RAF Fylingdales on Langdale Moor near Pickering, North Yorkshire, last Monday its peak, 19 fire appliances were at the scene and a major incident was declared. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) urged people not to visit the area where crews were still working, and said the rest of the North York Moors National Park and Dalby Forest remained open. A spokesperson said: "There are reports of people visiting the area of the fire to take photos. We would ask that people don't come to Langdale Moor and Langdale Forest where our crews are working."We remain at the scene of the fire at Langdale Moor. Crews continue to work to damp down and are being supported by partner agencies with putting fire breaks in. "A helicopter is in use again today to drop water." Does controlled moorland burning reduce wildfire risk? There have been reports of smoke drifting as far as Skipton, York and Tadcaster, and people living nearby have been asked to keep windows and doors cause of the fire is not yet Fire Officer Jonathan Dyson thanked everyone who had helped in the effort to put out the fire this week."Our crews, control room staff and officers have worked around the clock this past week to tackle the moorland fire at Langdale," he said."It's been especially hot and tiring work for the crews and officers at the scene."The generosity of communities and businesses through donations, support and well wishes has been truly outstanding."I'm especially grateful to local farmers, gamekeepers and partner agencies who've assisted on the ground and to our neighbouring fire services for providing additional resources." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Langdale Moor fire continues as smoke spreads 80 miles to Skipton
Firefighters are tackling a major moorland wildfire for a sixth day, with smoke from the blaze visible up to 80 miles (128km) engines remain on Langdale Moor in North Yorkshire, while a helicopter continues to drop water on the Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) said it expected to be at the scene for the next few crews in Skipton, 80 miles away, said they had been called to two separate incidents in relation to the smell of smoke, which they believed was being caused by the fire on Langdale Moor. A spokesperson said: "If anybody is wondering about a smog or mist settling over Skipton, we believe this to be smoke from Langdale Moor that has now reached Skipton due to wind direction."Please keep all BBQs to designated areas or preferably on your own property as national resources are currently spread very thin." Does controlled moorland burning reduce wildfire risk? Firefighters were first called to the moorland near RAF Fylingdales on Monday evening, with a major incident declared on its height, 19 fire appliances were at the services were suspended at the nearby North Yorkshire Moors Railway and a planned open day at Harrogate Fire Station was cancelled on Saturday because of "strain" on Dalby Forest Visitor Centre remaining open, Forestry England advised visitors to avoid the area due to large amounts of Friday, experts warned it could take "many decades, centuries or even thousands of years" for the moorland to recover from the Ingleby, from the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: "It's catastrophic for the habitats that are found in that location and the wildlife that currently lives there."It really is devastating and it will take probably 10 years or more for the heather to develop to that depth again to enable them [ground-nesting birds] to breed in the future." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
'North Yorkshire moorland could take centuries to recover from fires'
An area of moorland in North Yorkshire could take "many decades, centuries or even thousands of years" to recover from a large fire, experts have were first called to Langdale Moor near RAF Fylingdales on Monday evening, with a major incident declared on Friday evening, nine fire engines were on scene, according to North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS), with the smell of smoke reaching as far south as York, 35 miles Ingleby, from the North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA), said: "It's catastrophic for the habitats that are found in that location and the wildlife that currently lives there." The area affected covers a site of special scientific interest, a special conservation area and a special protection area, the senior ecologist included a "really, really highly designated site" for merlin, one of the smallest birds of prey in the Ingleby said that as a ground-nesting species, merlin only bred within deeper heather beds, which have been protected in the area for at least 15 years."It really is devastating and it will take probably 10 years or more for the heather to develop to that depth again to enable them to breed in the future." Ms Ingleby said the wildfire could be undoing "thousands of years of peat and carbon storage", with heritage and history below the surface lost, as well as habitats above the ground."It can take many decades, centuries and even thousands of years to really recover from that kind of impact." Lynden Marquis, from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: "Quite a lot of the wildlife is really going to struggle to either escape the fire or deal with the consequences of what has happened to the habitat."Slow-moving animals, for instance field voles or lizards or snakes, are simply not going to be able to escape."They are going to, frankly, die in a terrible way."Species of thrush which visit the UK during the autumn and winter would also be at risk, he said, because they normally feed on berries which grow in the area. Mr Marquis, who works as part of the Yorkshire Peat Partnership, said the fire would have a massive impact."Once that peat's gone, that peat is gone," he said."It's billowing up into the atmosphere as carbon, so in the long term that's going to drive climate change, and in the short term, you can't just replace peat, it forms at an average of 1mm per year."As well as helping "really interesting wildlife" to grow, peat is used to filter drinking water for reservoirs, and mitigate flooding by slowing the flow of rainfall, he explained."And we need the ground wet enough that the vegetation can regrow because all of the bilberry, the heather, the sphagnum moss, some dews, they will all have just gone." 'Tinder-dry' On Friday morning, the NYMNPA asked members of the public to "consider their actions" because of the "extreme fire risk".In a statement, it said ground vegetation and forests were "tinder-dry, creating the perfect conditions to spread rapidly and out of control".Visitors to the area were urged not to discard cigarettes or matches, light fires or barbecues, or leave glass bottles or reflective litter, to help "prevent catastrophe". On Thursday evening, NYFRS crews were called to a separate moorland fire nearby, next to the A171, which was closed overnight near the Flask Friday morning, this had been brought under control with help from local farmers, who also supported firefighters working at Langdale Moor by transporting water to the 16:00 BST on Friday, NYFRS said nine fire engines remained at Langdale Moor with a further two on the A171 near the Flask Inn.A statement added: "We're getting a lot of calls reporting smoke in and around York. We believe this is smoke from the fire on Langdale Moor."If you're being impacted by the smoke we advise keeping doors and windows closed." On Tuesday, steam services were suspended on the nearby North Yorkshire Moors Railway, but the heritage organisation said on Wednesday it would aim to run steam trains "between Grosmont and Whitby due to the lower fire risk profile".Trains between Grosmont and Pickering would continue to be hauled by diesel locomotives, to reduce the potential risk of further pressure on emergency services, it open day planned for Saturday at Harrogate Fire Station was cancelled because of "strain" on NYFRS, with a crew from the town assisting at Langdale Moor, the service said."We have tried to leave this decision as late as possible to see if we could still hold the event, but it is not possible."A crew from Bentham, 103 miles' drive away, also supported the incident response earlier in the week. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Fire crews remain at Langdale Moor fire for fourth day
Firefighters remain at the scene of a moorland fire on an old military range in the North York Moors National Park. The fire broke out on Langdale Moor, near the ballistic missile early warning base at RAF Fylingdales, on Monday evening. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) said they are aware that there are munitions in the area and people may hear explosions coming from the scene. People living nearby are being asked to keep their windows and doors closed as there is still lots of smoke in the area, the fire service added. There are 11 fire engines at the scene along with three argocats, which are off-road vehicles that provide a water-misting system. Crews are being helped by local farmers and business owners, NYFRS said. A spokesperson said: "We remain at the scene of the fire at Langdale Moor and are likely to be there for some time. "There's still a lot of smoke in the area so we're advising people nearby to keep doors and windows closed."Local farmers and businesses have been assisting us at the scene and we'd like to thank them for all their help."The fire service said the cause of the fire was not yet known. "We have precautions in place for our crews at the scene, but people may hear explosions. Explosive Ordnance Disposal are aware and are attending," the spokesperson added. On Wednesday, NYFRS declared the fire a major incident and said it was covering an area of about 5 sq km. People have described seeing thick plumes of smoke billowing across the moors in the area. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) said its heritage steam train services would be suspended until further notice, with diesel locomotives running also said it would delay the start of the Tornado services that were due to run from Friday to Sunday. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue making 'significant progress'
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) has made "significant progress" in improving since a highly critical report three years ago, a watchdog has said. The service was rated inadequate in 2022 by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) after it had "deteriorated in most areas" and required urgent an inspection in December 2024 and January 2025, the fire service was rated "good" in six areas and "adequate" in five Dyson, chief fire officer, welcomed the findings and said the results were a "testament to the hard work, professionalism and dedication" of staff. The HMICFRS report found NYFRS to be good at understanding fire and other risks, preventing incidents and responding to inspectorate also said the service had regular reviews to consider its expenditure, helping to ensure "value for money". 'Must go further' HMICFRS inspector Michelle Skeer said: "We were pleased to see that the service has made significant progress since our 2022 inspection, with improvements being made in most areas. "I would like to commend the strategic leadership team and all staff across the service for their willingness to change and their continued commitment to improvement."Mr Dyson said recent investment would enable them to build on their achievements and progress with equipment and training. "We're already making headway on improvements in the areas where we have received 'adequate' gradings to further ensure we are a high quality and community-focused service," he Skaith, the county's elected mayor, said: "I am very proud of the progress made in such a short space of time but we must go further. "We will continue to work with NYFRS, and hold them to account, as they continue to make the improvements I and the public expect them to make." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
