Crews have been tackling the fire near Dovestone Reservoir, in Greenfield, Oldham, since Saturday, July 11, with a nearby area of moorland at Swineshaw, near Glossop, also alight. The operation to contain another nearby moorland blaze, close to the village of Tintwistle, is also continuing, forcing the closure of the A628 Woodhead Pass.
Rain Provides Some Relief But Fires Continue
Following a prolonged dry spell which has made firefighting efforts extremely challenging, the region saw its first rain overnight and into today (Sunday, July 26). In an update this evening, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, who are leading the operations at the Dovestone and Swineshaw, said: "Periods of light rainfall and mist have dampened the moorlands but have not extinguished the fires and this remains a major incident."
Fire Chiefs Praise Crews
Ben Levy, Head of Response at GMFRS, said: “I’m incredibly proud of our firefighters who have shown outstanding resilience and bravery this weekend to tackle these wildfires in challenging weather conditions and difficult terrain. Their professionalism throughout this incident, alongside the invaluable support of our partners, has been exceptional.”
The area covered by both fires is said to be equivalent to 1,250 football pitches.
Derbyshire Fire Service Update
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, who are leading the operation at Tintwistle, said: "While heavy rain began falling across the area this morning and is providing some welcome assistance to crews, it has not brought the incident to an end."
"The rainfall is helping to dampen vegetation and reduce fire activity in some locations, supporting the significant progress already made by firefighters and partner agencies as work continues to fully extinguish the fire."
"Despite the change in weather conditions, this remains a large, complex and resource-intensive incident. Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service crews, working alongside partner organisations, members of the Fire Operations Group (FOG), and firefighters from across the UK deployed through National Resilience arrangements continue to operate across all four sectors of the fireground to extinguish remaining hotspots, reduce the risk of re-ignition and bring the incident safely to a conclusion."
"Our 999 control operators also remain a vital part of the response, continuing to handle other emergency calls while managing and logging the movements of all emergency services vehicles attached to the incident."
Public Warned to Stay Away
GMFRS said they were continuing to ask people to avoid the affected areas and to close their windows and doors if their homes are affected by smoke. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service added: "Although rain has fallen across the area today, the risk of wildfire has not disappeared. Vegetation can dry quickly, and there remains the potential for existing hotspots to reignite and for new fires to start elsewhere."
They concluded: "We would like to thank everyone who has played, or who continues to play a part in the response to the fire at Tintiwistle – this continues to be a huge collective effort demonstrating excellent team work on the largest of scales."
