North Yorkshire Fire Service Publishes Debrief On Fylingdales Moor Wildfire

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has released a comprehensive debrief report detailing its response to last summer's unprecedented wildfire on Fylingdales Moor, highlighting both successes and critical areas for future improvement.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has published its major incident debrief following the summer 2025 Fylingdales Moor and Langdale End wildfire.

The blaze, which required a long and coordinated response from multiple organisations, affected an area of moorland and forest spanning more than twenty kilometres. The incident was particularly complex as the fire occurred in a remote area with limited water supplies and difficult access.

Parts of the site had previously been used as a military training range, meaning crews had to work around the severe risk of unexploded ordnance. The smoke plume also prompted public health advice for surrounding coastal communities, with air quality monitors installed in Scarborough and road closures affecting routes near Whitby.

Chief Fire Officer Jonathan Dyson said:

"This was one of the most significant, complex and protracted incidents that the services ever had to respond to. The fire covered a vast area of moorland and forestry areas. It demanded a whole system approach from many partners and agencies which also included national resilience assets and all the fire rescue services. Our crews worked in extremely challenging and arduous conditions, with remote access, limited areas, unusual risks, including unexploded ordnance, which presented a significant and real risk for all our staff. Now despite these challenges, there was no loss of life, no serious injuries, thankfully, and no damage or loss of property. We also successfully protected our refining dales, which is a significant achievement considering the response that was required."

The newly published report provides a clear review of how the incident was handled, based on operational data, decision records, and feedback from the staff involved.

Mr Dyson said:

"The report provides a transparent assessment of our response. It's an honest response. It sets out what we're well, but importantly, areas where we need to improve.

We are continuing to strengthen how we respond in such incidents because one of the key messages from this debrief is that the wildfire environment is rapidly changing. They are becoming more frequent, more complex and more prolonged in duration.

You can be assured that we are already taking action on the findings. We've improved and will continue to improve our wildfire prep planning, building resilience for longer incidents, and also strengthen our welfare and health and safety arrangements, including the logistics and access to better information."

The report highlights several key strengths, including teamwork between more than thirty partner organisations, successful protection of communities, and clear command structures.

With the debrief identifying areas for improvement, work is already underway to enhance prevention strategies.

Mr Dyson said:

"We're working with landowners, businesses, partners to make sure the prevention activity messages are all strengthened.

And one of our key challenges was the delivery of water up on the Moors and we're strengthening those arrangements through contracting arrangements with farmers and local landowners.

We believe the cause of this fire to be cooking or naked flame. Now, this means that fire was absolutely avoidable.

So, I continue to ask anyone who is visiting the countryside, within York and North Yorkshire, to follow the safety advice provided by all of the local agencies.

Make sure you're safe, remove all of your litter, do not use smoking materials, and do not use barbecues on dry land or grass or forestry areas."

A multi-agency debrief undertaken by the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum has also been published, acknowledging the good practice across agencies and setting out a roadmap to prepare for future extreme weather events.

Mr Dyson said:

"I want to take this opportunity to thank our staff, our firefighters, and our control staff who gave everything through that incident.

And, of course, this includes the local landowners, other emergency services, the local resilience forum, Ministry of Defence, landowners, farmers, contractors, gamekeepers, and businesses.

This was a true community event that we all responded to. It's important to remember that the debrief is not just about looking backwards, iIt's about improving and learning for everybody and all responders.

We are committed to embedding the learning. We will remain publicly accountable and we will ensure that we are better prepared for future events."

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, stated that the wildfire was a defining moment for the region, reinforcing the need to think long-term about resilience and land management. Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, added that the combined effort of firefighters, farmers, and landowners was instrumental in tackling the extraordinary fire.

David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime said:

“Today, we have published our response to the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum's debrief into the Fylingdales Moor wildfire.

The Fylingdales Moor fire was a stark warning. Incidents of this scale can no longer be treated as rare or exceptional.

The response from firefighters, farmers, landowners, volunteers, and local communities was outstanding, but we cannot rely on goodwill alone. As the risk of wildfires grows, so too must our preparedness.

The lessons from this incident are clear, we need stronger resilience, better coordination and a more robust approach to preventing, responding to and recovering from major wildfires.

The Fylingdales Moor wildfire was initially started by someone believed to have been cooking using a naked flame, such as a campfire or gas burner, at a remote location and that's why we are calling on all supermarkets to stop the sale of disposable BBQs in our region and are backing national calls for an all-out ban.

It's also why we are making our response to the NYLRF report public. Transparency matters, but transparency must lead to action."

The Fire Services full debrief report can be read at www.northyorksfire.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/26434_NYFRS_Langdale_debrief_26_SPREADS.pdf

The Fire Investigation Report is at www.northyorksfire.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/055.2025-26-Langdale-Report-Redacted-v1-FINAL.pdf

The Local Resilience Agency Report is at www.northyorks.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-06/Fylingdales%20Fire%20Report%202025%20-%20Part%201%20Response.pdf