Grass fire warning as heatwave prompts spike in blazes

Wednesday, 4 July 2018 16:00

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is asking the public to take extra care after dealing with a high number of grass fires which is unprecedented in recent years.

Firefighters have attended around 700 incidents in the past week across West Yorkshire, over half of which were fires in the open – largely grass and rubbish fires.

Meanwhile, specialist wildfire units are still helping tackle the Saddleworth Moor fire across the border.

Area Manager for Service Delivery Chris Kirby said: “We have all seen the destructive nature of wildfires from the images of Saddleworth Moor and we do not want to see something of that scale happening in West Yorkshire.

“Right now that is not unimaginable. We have now had such a long period of sustained sunshine that the vegetation is tinder dry and will burn very rapidly should it come into contact with a heat source such as for example a barbecue.

“Fires like these are not only labour intensive to fight but they also have the potential to spread and pose a risk to property and people.

“The fire severity index is an assessment of how severe a fire could become if one were to start. This is currently mapped at ‘very high’ for England and Wales.

“We cannot stress our fire warning strongly enough and we do need the general public to be more vigilant and take extra care when enjoying the moorlands or in the countryside.

“Small embers or sparks from barbecues, or even carelessly discarded cigarettes, can be all it takes to start a small fire which can very quickly become a large fire and the consequences could be devastating.”

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