Scarborough Mayor and Local Farmers Laud Heroic Efforts in Langdale Moor Wildfire Response

Scarborough Town Mayor, Councillor Thomas Murray, has publicly expressed profound gratitude to all individuals and organisations involved in tackling the devastating Langdale Moor fire.

His commendation comes as local farmers also voice their admiration for the dedication of fire crews.

Councillor Murray conveyed his heartfelt thanks, stating,

"I want to place on record our thanks to everyone involved in the response to the Langdale Moor Fire.

We are deeply grateful to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, the police, local gamekeepers and landowners, and to the farmers who stood shoulder to shoulder with the firefighters working night and day to fight the flames and hold back the spread.

The damage left behind is vast, and it'll take many years for the moorland to recover and regrow. Yet in the face of such devastation, the dedication and community spirit shown has been remarkable.

On behalf of Scarborough Town Council, I want to thank all those who continue to protect our people, our wildlife, and our beautiful countryside."

Local farmer Mike Shardlow echoed this sentiment, praising the "tremendous effort by the fire services". Mr Shardlow specifically commended the local rural fire services and the retained firefighters.

"There's been tremendous effort by the fire services that we've been working with.

A lot of the rural fire services down there with the four wheel drive engines, Danby in particular, I worked the first night with and they worked the little socks off they were supposed to pull out at four o'clock in the morning and one of the lads was going straight to work.

They didn't actually get relieved till five and he literally went straight to work and then they were back out the next night again.

 And, but they, those retained firefighters all are full-time jobs, all farms.

And we've had Reeth, Layburn and all these little fires, people up here, some of them travelling up to three and a half hours and then do a full shift when they get here.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) has also extended "sincere gratitude to all partners and members of the public for their continued support" throughout the incident, specifically thanking local farmers, gamekeepers, the Ministry of Defence, and communities for their "cooperation, support and resilience". NYFRS further acknowledged the "exceptional efforts of our own staff" and those who provided support from "around the country".

While elements of the response are transitioning, NYFRS maintains a major incident status due to the "complex and evolving nature of the situation". Although the fire is currently contained, it is "not fully extinguished". Deep-seated burning and excessive heat persist, and shifts in wind direction could "ignite unburnt vegetation within containment lines," potentially causing "continued flare-ups," visible flame, and smoke. NYFRS confirmed that an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

In light of the incident, farmer Mike Shardlow urged the public to "be careful". He recounted stopping fire pits and open barbecues on his campsite just before the fire, stressing that actions like "chucking glass bottles away" or "chucking a cigarette" can start fires.

"I think the public have got to be careful. Barbecues we stopped on our campsite fire pits and but open barbecues just before this happened actually.

Just chucking glass bottles away. There's one just sat there, something like that can start a fire.

Chucking a cigarette, there was an incident the other week somebody had just chucked a cigarette out at the car below Snainton.

There was another fire while this was on set by, I believe a barbecue past the Flask Inn, now that could have gone to Ravensscar while this one was burning. Now that would've stretched the resources to the limit."

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service also advises the public to "continue to adhere to our safety notices and seek updates from official sources".