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Fire near Saddleworth Moor could take weeks to put out | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The fire on moorland above Manchester could take weeks to put out, according to the Greater Manchester fire and rescue.While properties are not currently at risk from the flames, a change in wind direction could put life in danger again, said Tony Hunter, assistant chief fire officer, on Thursday. | |
The fire, which started on Sunday, is now seven square miles across (18km sq), with the active “fire front” stretching up to 2.5 miles (4km), he said.He was talking after around 100 soldiers from 4th Batallion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, were deployed from their base in Catterick, North Yorkshire, to help the fire service. | |
They will join more than 100 firefighters who have been working rolling 12-hour shifts to tackle blaze, which is concentrated on moorland above Stalybridge in Tameside, east of Manchester, stretching towards Dovestones reservoir in Saddleworth, Oldham. | |
An RAF Chinook helicopter has also been made available to help move a heavy water pump, which is capable of spraying 7,000 litres of water a minute over the moors.The 34 households evacuated on Tuesday night in Carrbrook, Stalybridge, have returned home, but they and everyone else in Greater Manchester have been advised to keep windows and doors closed as the smoke has spread.Talking to journalists by Higher Swineshaw Reservoir in Stalybridge, Hunter said: “The moorland is still smouldering away. We have got over seven square miles affected and we have got over 100 firefighters currently on the scene with more on their way to ensure that we are prepared for an increase in fire or if pockets do appear, because those pockets could draw the fire even nearer to the residents who were affected over the last couple of days.”The weather forecast did not bode well for firefighting, he warned. “We have not seen any indication of any rain coming in the next couple of days/weeks, so we can see this being prolonged for days if not weeks,” he said. “It is dependent on a downpour of rain – and it would have to be a significant downpour of rain because it is so dry it would be absorbed very, very quickly. | |
There could be a “dramatic change” should the wind switch direction and push the fire back towards the arid peat bogs, which have not yet ignited but provide perfect fuel for a long-burning fire. “If there is a change in wind to the opposite direction, it is a completely different picture then in terms of the fuel available to this fire,” he said. | |
Firefighters had been working until dusk on Wednesday night and, as it was too dangerous to go on the moors at night while it was on fire, an assessment at first light showed there was no “significant increase”. | |
On Thursday morning the soldiers were being trained by the fire services and will help carrying equipment and anything else necessary.“We are extremely pleased to have the support of the armed forces. Those firefighters on the moorland today are the same firefighters that spent over 12 hours on those moorlands yesterday,” said Hunter.RAF wing commander Gary Lane said: “We’ve got 100 troops deploying and they are going to come down in pockets of 30 and they are going to be supporting fire and rescue.”The initial deployment was for 48 hours but they were prepared to stay longer if necessary, he added.Hunter asked members of the public to keep country lanes free from cars so that the emergency services could access them easily and to check the news for updates. “The fire is over a large area and we would ask the public to stay away from where the emergency services are working and to keep out of the smoke, but I wouldn’t want people not to visit Saddleworth because it is a lovely area to visit. We would just ask people to be careful as you would normally in terms of the country code in terms of barbecues and naked lights and be very, very careful in these very dry conditions.”He said the fire service had considered trying to close the moors but had decided against it. “We believe we have the fire contained and we have the resources to deal with an increase in fire, so at this stage that’s not a requirement,” he told journalists. | |
Fire chiefs say it is the worst moorland fire in living memory to hit Saddleworth, a vast tract of barren land, high on the hills straddling Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and Derbyshire. | |
The impact could even be seen from space as Nasa satellites picked up the plumes of smoke. | |
Air quality levels in the area are being monitored regularly. | |
A handful of local schools have been closed. | |
Experts warned that high levels of pollutants generated from the blaze could have a significant effect on people’s health. | |
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