Huge area of Yorkshire moorland destroyed by fire

The National Trust has said it is “devastated” after more than 280 hectares (700 acres) of moorland – home to an endangered species of bird – was destroyed in a fire started by a barbecue.

An area above the village of Marsden, West Yorkshire, was engulfed in flames as temperatures soared on Easter Sunday.

Several crews of firefighters and a helicopter tackled the blaze in unseasonably warm weather and swirling winds on Monday as the extent of the damage was revealed.

The National Trust, which owns the moorland, said the area was a “special place” for wildlife and it was likely that mountain hares and nesting birds, such as merlins, skylarks and curlews, died in the flames.

Curlews have been in dramatic decline in Britain and are considered one of the country’s most important bird conservation priorities, according to the British Trust for Ornithology.

The National Trust said the blaze was started by a barbecue at Eastergate, a popular picnic spot.

“We are devastated to see the destruction caused. Please help us protect the moors and wildlife by calling the fire brigade immediately if you spot any signs of fire,” said a spokeswoman for the charity.

The fire, which occurred 24 hours after a smaller blaze on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, prompted renewed warnings about the dangers of starting barbecues on tinder-dry moorlands.

Marsden Moor is designated as a site of special scientific interest, a special protection area and a special area of conservation, due to its nesting bird population and blanket bog habitat.

Map of Yorkshire moorland fires

The National Trust said more than £200,000 of habitat restoration work had been lost in the Marsden blaze, and the charity was having to hire a helicopter to help extinguish the flames at a cost of £2,000 an hour.

Craig Best, the group’s countryside manager for West Yorkshire, said a “£2 disposable barbecue has turned into a firefighting bill in excess of £10,000” for the charity.

He said the group whose barbecue started the blaze called the fire service when they were unable to put out the flames on Sunday evening. Some of the group waited for the firefighters to arrive and were “quite distressed” as the flames took hold, Best said.

“This needs to be a bit of a warning for people that something as simple as a £2 barbecue can cause such an extensive fire. It really doesn’t take long for a barbecue in dry vegetation to catch light. If you’ve got a slight breeze, before you know it that fire is spread up the hill,” he said.

Best said the fire was believed to have spanned far more than 280 hectares of moorland as it continued to burn into Monday evening.

It was the sixth reported fire on the moorland this year, after a 1.5 sq mile blaze when Britain had its hottest winter day on record in February, and four separate smaller fires since then.

A blanket of grey fog smothered swaths of the area surrounding Marsden. Motorists on the Pennine stretch of the M62 were able to smell the fumes and residents in Oldham and Stalybridge were advised to close their windows and doors.

The fire service was also tackling a separate moorland fire near Tintwistle, in Derbyshire, as temperatures returned to the mid-20s on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, three men aged 19, 23 and 24 were arrested in connection with the Ilkley Moor blaze. Police have not said whether it was believed to have been started deliberately.