Fires on Saddleworth Moor & Winter Hill

[greyman42]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44634023

The Army has been called in to help battle a huge moorlands fire which has been raging for three days.

The blaze covers 3.7miles (6km) of Saddleworth Moor and prompted firefighters to evacuate about 50 homes.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it had asked for military assistance...

Is the fire on Saddleworth Moor close to the Leeds-Manchester line?

 

[sprinterguy]

The fire's across the other side of the valley from the railway, above Carrbrook.

Here's a map of the affected area that I have sourced from the Manchester Evening News site:
Saddleworth Moor fire map - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/d/viewer?mid=13NcXKiHGtJT45mgt4Ug8x_XDR_tcPtYy&usp=sharing

 

[Saint66]

I'm sure NR are keeping a keen eye on the situation as these fires they can change direction and spread very quickly, especially with the current weather conditions continuing until the weekend at least.

 

[mike57]

Travelling to Manchester this morning
the fire is clearly visible from the train. There is a lot of property and a fair bit of distance between the fire and the railway however.

 

[trickyvegas]

It would have to cross a river and a canal as well as two major roads in order to reach the railway line.

 

[Elecman]

Plenty of smoke hanging around Manchester City Centre this morning

 

[gazthomas]

A Moor with a dark history of course

 

[WatcherZero]

Visibility was down to 30 meters and acrid air as far as Westhoughton.

 

[Bromley boy]

A Moor with a dark history of course

Indeed. There is speculation in the press that the fire may obscure the (unfound) grave of the moors murderers’ final victim.

 

[tony_mac]

The smell of it is obvious even in Liverpool this evening.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

BBC showed a NASA satellite visual image: the smoke plume, though thinned, extends all the way to the Irish Sea. With winds being relatively light and a little variable the thickness of the smoke in any one place downwind can vary quite a bit. On Tuesday evening for a while I could smell it very clearly (I'm at least 25 miles away from the fire) and views of aircraft at just 7,000 feet were hazy. By sunset it was clear though the banks of smoke could be seen in several directions; it did make for a colourful sunset. There was a report during Wednesday that smoke had been detected as far away as Welshpool.

 

[edwin_m]

Indeed. There is speculation in the press that the fire may obscure the (unfound) grave of the moors murderers’ final victim.

Unless it's spread dramatically since the BBC published a map (which I can't now find) the fire is south of Dovestone and the Chew Valley. The burial sites are all believed to be further north near the A635.

 

[Statto]

It would have to cross a river and a canal as well as two major roads in order to reach the railway line.

That won't stop fires, as any embers from the fires can drift over those obstacles & start new fires elsewhere.

 

[DarloRich]

That won't stop fires, as any embers from the fires can drift over those obstacles & start new fires elsewhere.

Indeed - But it does give a source of water to help put them out

 

[Statto]

Fires on Winter Hill near Bolton & smoke from that fire could be seen overe large parts of Merseyside.

 

[furnessvale]

Indeed - But it does give a source of water to help put them out

It also gives lookouts a chance to spot new fires and extinguish them before they get a hold.

 

[Howardh]

Fires on Winter Hill near Bolton & smoke from that fire could be seen overe large parts of Merseyside.

It looked like a volcano on Saturday and I notice all the surrounding roads eg. Scout Road have been blocked off, yet still walkers take their dogs for walkies inside the cordon. Luckily the wind has taken the smoke away from my house which is under two miles from the fire, dread to think wahat it's like down wind, was bad enough here last week with the Saddleworth fires.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It also gives lookouts a chance to spot new fires and extinguish them before they get a hold.

Would that depend how deeply the fire had penetrated into the peat. The very hot weather and prevailing winds do not help matters.

 

[Mag_seven]

Can't be much fun being downwind from that fire.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It was said during a news programme that people have been deliberately adding to the events by causing new moorland fires to add to the existing problem. I wonder how a judge would decide upon a sentence should someone be convicted of that type of offence and the fact that an official emergency was in progress at the time of the offence?

 

[furnessvale]

It was said during a news programme that people have been deliberately adding to the events by causing new moorland fires to add to the existing problem. I wonder how a judge would decide upon a sentence should someone be convicted of that type of offence and the fact that an official emergency was in progress at the time of the offence?

The maximum penalty for arson is unfortunately only life imprisonment.

Perhaps judges should be thinking towards the higher end of the scale available.

 

[edwin_m]

Might a charge of manslaughter be brought if someone dies in the resulting fire?

 

[AlterEgo]

Might a charge of manslaughter be brought if someone dies in the resulting fire?

It would depend entirely on the circumstances.

 

[Mag_seven]

It was said during a news programme that people have been deliberately adding to the events by causing new moorland fires to add to the existing problem.

What absolute low life.

 

[GusB]

It was said during a news programme that people have been deliberately adding to the events by causing new moorland fires to add to the existing problem. I wonder how a judge would decide upon a sentence should someone be convicted of that type of offence and the fact that an official emergency was in progress at the time of the offence?

I would hope that anyone found to be starting these files deliberately would feel the full force of the law.

It's not unusual for the gorse around here to go up flames during the summer months, but it seems to have happened far more frequently than it used to. There has been quite a lot of negative publicity about our local fire crews being stretched so much that they are unable to provide enough cover for domestic fires - these wildfires can't be helping. My experience isn't directly related to Saddleworth Moor or Winter hill, but I'm sure most folk would agree that we need some bloody rain, and soon.

 

[Howardh]

but I'm sure most folk would agree that we need some bloody rain, and soon.

Don't think dear old Dennis Howell is around these days (for those of us of a certain age).
Can we make Boris Minister of Drought so either way we're covered, if it doesn't work we have a glorious summer (no water, but a glorious summer) or it's torrential for a month (horrible summer but puts the fires out and the crops grow).
Meanwhile thanks to the lawn turning brown it doesn't need cutting. Yay!!!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The maximum penalty for arson is unfortunately only life imprisonment.

Perhaps judges should be thinking towards the higher end of the scale available.

Really?

Whilst I don't wish to excuse acts of wanton destruction, I'm glad that some of our members on here aren't involved in the legislature or judiciary.

 

[Jonny]

BBC are now reporting that the Saddleworth Moor fire is being "treated as arson":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44713651

Fire near Saddleworth Moor 'being treated as arson'

A huge moor fire which is "continuing to burn" is being treated as arson.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said people were seen lighting a bonfire on the moors near Stalybridge on 24 June, shortly before a call was made to the fire service.

Ch Supt Neil Evans said "solid evidence" on how the fire started "will not be easy to establish".

Hundreds of firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which spread to nearby Saddleworth Moor.

 

[Crossover]

I work around Oldham and there was a very acrid smell in the air this morning when I arrived, though it had dispersed by lunchtime. My colleague advised that the same smell had been around Ashton the day before, and was likely to be from the Saddleworth fire. A colleague last week said their car was covered in ash one morning from it

 

[Howardh]

I work around Oldham and there was a very acrid smell in the air this morning when I arrived, though it had dispersed by lunchtime. My colleague advised that the same smell had been around Ashton the day before, and was likely to be from the Saddleworth fire. A colleague last week said their car was covered in ash one morning from it

Yesterday afternoon I left my windows wide open and by the evening there was a thin layer of soot on the white windowsill, a bit like when your car is covered with Sahara dust under the right conditions.
That soot's getting into our lungs, of course.