Langdale Moor Fire "Largest Ever Seen" By Local Farmers and Fire Fighters

Wednesday, 10 September 2025 06:00

By Matthew Pells

Local farmers are continuing to help tackle the underlying peat fire in areas normal fire engines find hard to reach.

Farmers working on the Langdale Moor fire say the efforts to tackle the underlying fire are still ongoing.

While the fire is now contained, peat under the surface is still burning as local farmer Mike Shardlow showed Paddy.

"It's still a light just in the centre of there, it's got right into the peat.

I've got some photos where, I've just been digging peat out there.

It was actually over a foot deep, the fire was.

Yesterday we were on all these edges and you'll see a grass area and just see a little bit of smoke coming out.

You go and dig about a meter in front of you and the fire's tracked right down under the grass in the peat, and then you lift that grass off and it just flares up in front of you.

So that's what these guys are up against you. You put water on, but it's not physically getting through the grass mat to the peat underneath."

Mike Shardlow says he's been told the blaze was the largest fire ever dealt with by North Yorkshire Fire Service. He says the scale of the damage is large and the amount of water still being used to damp down burning peat is also immense.

"It's the largest fire that's ever been in the country.

We went up with the deputy president of the NFU and Tom from the fire service, and he said it's the largest fire they've ever had to deal with.

And a lot for everybody on boards got to be taken in here, that the fire service probably in future, if anything like happens, they'll call the gamekeepers farmers and contractors in at an earlier point because they've got the capacity to shift the volume of water.

I'd hate to say how many million gallons, to say we've got a water shortage, we haven't we've been pulling out the Esk down in the harbour, which comes out the Esk, and we haven't missed it, and they're still pulling thousands of gallons a day out there.

North Yorkshire Fire Service say :

"We continue to monitor the area and deal with flare ups, as they happen. Please, however, be aware that this is still an ongoing incident.
We are getting reports of people being in and around the active working areas, which are closed off. We know this guidance can be an inconvenience and we appreciate your ongoing support, but please help us and do not put yourself and our crews at risk.
Please continue to follow the safety guidance available, this includes

May Beck and Falling Foss car parks in Sneaton Forest are closed whilst we and our partners are still in the area

Parts of the Coast to Coast walk are not accessible.

The A171 and B1416 between Whitby and Scarborough are open with 30mph speed limits

Laybys are closed, this is to ensure people keep moving and do not stop to look at the fire.

If you see are flare ups, please carry on driving and call 999 from a safe place."