Locals Thank Moorland Farmers & Firefighters as Roads Reopen

As the A171 reopens between Whitby and Scarborough following the moorland fires local businesses and residents are thanking those who have helped tackle the blaze.

Major roads around the Langdale Moor fire reopened at 6:30pm last night.

The A171 between Scarborough and Whitby, along with the B1416 from Ruswarp to the A171, reopened after being closed for several days due to the moorland fires.

A 30mph speed limit will be in place in sections of the roads. The Council say that Laybys will be closed and ask drivers to keep moving and not to stop to look at the fire.

The council say that The Falling Foss and May Beck car parks in Sneaton Forest remain closed while the firefighting continues.

Minor roads that lead directly into the moors will remain closed until further notice.

As the efforts to douse the blaze continue local businesses and individuals have been finding ways to thank the many fire fighters, farmers, gamekeepers and contractors who have been helping to contain and extinguish the fire.

The family behind Ridley's Farm Shop in Egton will be on Whitby Marina today handing out food as a thank you to those involved in the fire fighting efforts.

Gretchen says they've teamed up with other local businesses to make the gesture.

"Where I come from  it's what you do you help out and we're just grateful for the farmers and the gamekeepers, the contractors, the firemen, everything.

So we'd like to do our bit, but we couldn't do it without the local community. Jackson's Butchers, Ford's Butchers, Lealholm Village the Witching Post and other supporting members of the community have donated to help us to help the farmers, and everyone else that's helping to fight these fires.

I didn't believe how big it was until you speak to the farmers.

I cannot believe these people and what they're tackling and what a super job they're doing.

We are so grateful"

The team from Ridley's will be spending a second day handing out the thank yous on Whitby Marina today. Gretchen says they had a great response to their food supplies yesterday.

"We brought down two Egg and Bacon large quiche to feed everyone down at the marina, and some of it was taken up to the Moors. And today we're bringing down sausage rolls.

We've had some really great people came up to us and, uh, we had a hug and uh, the farmer said thank you.

And, we are just grateful for our farmers keepers contractors, for their immeasurable, undying commitments in the face of such extreme adversity.

As always, they just get in and they get it done.

They're heroes. "

The Ridley family are not alone in wanting to express their thanks to the many people helping to tackle the moorland fire.

In Whitby Sophie Anscombe's family have been showing their thanks with a banner they have been showing to passing tractors.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume has also been highlighting the support being provided to the fire fighting volunteers. the MP said:

"It’s often in the most difficult moments that you find out the most about people.

That’s certainly been the case over the past three weeks, as the community continues to come together to tackle the Langdale/Fylingdales wildfire.

Firefighters from North Fire and Rescue Service, now bolstered by national support after a request for support was immediately answered, have been phenomenal. I know the same goes for local farmers, who’ve acted as our fourth emergency service.

I know, after first visiting the scene on August 20th and stations at Whitby and Scarborough since, how grateful our firefighters are for the farmer’s help. It has undoubtedly made a real difference.

Across the area immediately affected and beyond, there have been numerous acts of kindness, selflessness and of course bravery. Too many, in all honesty, for me to reference individually.

However some have struck a chord with the wider public, including Amy Cockrem’s remarkable fundraiser which has now raised nearly £70,000 to be distributed among farmers via the NFU and firefighting charities. Contractors and farmers ferried hundreds of thousands of gallons of water in difficult conditions. They have done whatever it took.

Local businesses, many of which have been affected themselves, sent food and refreshments to those on the moors or allowed their employees time off to intervene. "

Alison Hume says it'd important that the government is made aware of the scale of the fire and it's longer term impacts.

"Now in its fourth week, I’ve been regularly updating the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and other relevant ministers about the situation on the ground. An emergency Bellwin Scheme has been opened by the government to assist NYFRS with the cost, which will run into millions. The York and North Yorkshire Local Resilience Form is overseeing the response with NYFRS in charge of the fire response.

The fire is now contained and the Fire Chief is confident it will stay that way. However, there will continue to be flare-ups as the fire burns deep into the peat. The fire will continue to burn for many weeks to come, devastating farmers’ grazing and causing huge damage to the moors and the environment. It’s heartbreaking.

This has been an unprecedented fire, further complicated by unexploded munitions at a Second World War tank training area near RAF Fylingdales. Nineteen, at the time of writing, have exploded.

To date there have been no loss of life or property, a situation I know has only been made possible by the community pulling together. Thank you to you all.

Now I’m back in Westminster, I’ll be continuing to make people aware of the challenges my constituents are facing because of the on-going situation on the ground. I’ll also make sure their voices are heard when events surrounding the fire are considered and lessons inevitably learned. This will include how we manage our moors going forward."