Wildfire burning one month on is 'the size of a small town'

A wildfire raging on Tintwistle Moor in the Peak District has now been burning for over a month, growing into a sprawling blaze the size of a small town that is visible from space. The fire, which began on June 24, was declared a major incident on July 13 amid a persistent spell of hot, dry weather that is straining the country's firefighting capabilities.

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It may well be, yes.

Dr. Kirsten Lees, an environmental sciences lecturer at the University of Derby specializing in zero carbon, stated that the Tintwistle fire is comparable to some of the largest wildfires ever recorded in England. "It may well be, yes," she responded when asked if it could be one of the largest in recent memory. She described the situation as "upsetting and it's really scary," noting that it rivals major fires like Saddleworth in 2018 and Fylingdales in North York Moors last year.

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Honestly, it's upsetting and it's really scary.

Analysis of data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis) by BBC Verify estimates that the fire has consumed 606 hectares (1,630 acres) of moorland. This area exceeds the footprint of Hadfield, a nearby town with a population of about 6,700 people. Dr. Lees, who has been monitoring the fire using satellite imagery, believes it would need to expand by another 25% to surpass the scale of the Saddleworth fire, and Fylingdales was even larger.

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In Wales we tend to have some large ones. In terms of being the largest fire that we've seen in the Peak District, it probably would need to grow another 25% or so to overtake the Saddleworth fire, and obviously Fylingdales was bigger again.

Firefighters have been stationed on the moorland near Glossop for more than a month, with no immediate end in sight. Clive Stanbrook, deputy chief fire officer for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, described the operation as "complex and challenging." He assured that the brigade and partner agencies are working towards a "safe conclusion as quickly as possible." Experts indicate that the fire is unlikely to be fully extinguished until significant rainfall occurs. A separate wildfire at Dovestone Reservoir, north of the main blaze, covers an additional 90 hectares (220 acres).

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At the moment the fire services have been doing a fantastic job keeping it under control as much as possible. We probably won't see this being completely out until we get some good rain.