Fire Chiefs Warn Over Wildfire Risks On Moors Following Last Year's Devastating Blaze

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has issued a stark warning about the risk of wildfires on the moors, urging the public to avoid using naked flames following last summer's devastating Langdale Moor blaze.

Fire chiefs are raising concerns over the potential for a repeat of last summer's devastating Langdale Moor wildfire, as experts warn of increasingly dry conditions and hydrophobic soil.

The warning follows the conclusion of a multi-agency investigation into the massive blaze on Fylingdales Moor, which determined the fire was caused by human activity. Investigators believe the fire, which grew to ten times the size of the Great Fire of London, was ignited by cooking equipment such as a campfire or gas burner.

The blaze had a profound impact on the Yorkshire Coast, affecting landscapes near Whitby and Scarborough, and requiring a major response from emergency services.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Ben Illsley highlighted the changing environmental conditions that are increasing the risk of wildfires.

"The data that was coming out of the NFCC (National Fire Chief's Council) around climate change is that we spent longer last year at high ratings of the wildfire severity index.

The ground is drier, we had the hottest and driest spring and summer on record last year. It just means that if there is any embers, the ground is a lot more susceptible to fire starting and then if it does catch fire it will spread significantly more quickly.

There's also research and data to suggest that the soil and the ground is becoming more hydrophobic so it doesn't retain as much moisture and water over the winter periods.

We're already in kind of April time, our neighbours in West Yorkshire have already been dealing with significant wildfires this early on in the year, which despite having quite a wet winter and start to the year is something we need to have an eye on from a risk basis definitely."

The fire service is taking proactive measures to prevent a recurrence of such a destructive event. Chief Fire Officer Jonathan Dyson expressed frustration that some individuals are already ignoring safety advice.

Jonathan Dyson said:

"We were quite disappointed when we saw that people had already begun to have barbecues in those really delicate areas up there.

We are and always will have a real focus on prevention in this area and we're really strongly following through with this this year.

When we responded to the Langdale fire we responded to what was ultimately a preventable incident. It didn't need to happen and this is the part of the messaging strategy and it will continue.

Ultimately, if you're going onto the moors or you're going into open areas where it is vulnerable because of the dry weather and the dry conditions, then be respectful to that and have absolutely no naked flames, don't do any cooking or anything which could then impact on the environment itself, or of course then lead to an incident where we need to respond as we did last year unfortunately."

The service is collaborating with various partners to enhance public awareness and protect the vulnerable moorland.

Jonathan Dyson said:

"We're already working with the communities, we're already working with our partner agencies including Forestry England, Natural England, we've had Defra and other government departments up, just to show them the extent of what happened up there and our call to action collectively in this area.

There will be direct messaging to the public, there will be direct signs in key areas, and again things like working with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on prevention, and anybody that we can reach into that we can identify as potentially affected by this or people that could go and set fires on the moors we will do everything we can to engage with those individuals."

The Langdale fire, which escalated into a major incident in August, required firefighters to work in extremely challenging conditions. The area's history as a military training range meant unexploded ordnance was present, leading to several detonations during the blaze.

In addition to public education, the fire service is looking to learn from local agricultural practices to better manage the land.

Jonathan Dyson said:

"Our key prevention message now is that that was a preventable fire last year, and we want to be in that same area this year.

We want everybody involved in that prevention message, but again an education for us from farmers and their land management techniques and what they can also do to proactively manage the land and possibly prevent that fire spread.

So this is, as I said during Langdale, a truly community driven service, and we are out there doing as much as we can and will continue to do so."

Meanwhile, recovery work on Fylingdales Moor is underway, coordinated by the North York Moors National Park Authority. Measures include laying biodegradable coir matting to prevent soil erosion and reinstating firebreaks in nearby forests to make the landscape more resilient for the future.