Posted: Friday 24 April 2020, 11:51
Firefighters have made an early morning return to a moorland fire at Rakes Moss, near to the A628 Crowden to Glossop.
Firefighters were first called to Rakes Moss at 10.06 hours on the 23 April, with crews from Derbyshire and Greater Manchester attending the scene, supported by landowners United Utilities and local gamekeepers.
Throughout yesterday, crews used beaters, specialist Argo cat vehicles with high pressure pumps to penetrate deep into the fire, and a helicopter to drop water onto the moorland.
Late last night, firefighters withdrew from the moors, as is normal practice for their safety.
Speaking this morning, Area Manager Rob Taylor said: “Firefighters returned to the moors at 6am following a long and hot day firefighting yesterday.
“We have crews from Derbyshire and Greater Manchester and together we are agreeing the best tactical plan to limit the spread of the fire and to bring the incident to the quickest and safest conclusion, to protect that local ecosystem and wildlife.
“I would ask people in the Stalybridge area to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke that is coming from the fire. I would also like to remind people to stay away from the area and adhere to current government covid-19 advice to stay at home with the exception of essential travel.”
Currently there are two helicopters supporting the fire and firefighters from Derbyshire - Glossop, Staveley, Bakewell, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton, and from Greater Manchester – Rochdale, Little Borough, Bury and Stalybridge.
Moorlands Fire - Rakes Moss Update (pdf 206.15 KB)