Striking photos show the 'apocalyptic' blaze engulfing UK moorland
Wildfires of "apocalyptic" proportions have engulfed Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester, northern England, for several days this week.
The blaze began on Sunday 24 June during a heatwave which saw temperatures across the UK rise to record highs.
The fires — which set seven square miles of grassland ablaze — have resulted in the greater Manchester region being blanketed in a canopy of thick smoke.
Dry peat, high temperatures, and unrelenting winds are said to be hindering attempts to keep the fire under control.
A major incident was declared earlier this week, and people were forced to evacuate their homes as the blaze showed no signs of abating. The military was also called in to support firefighters tackling the blaze.
Firefighters warn that it could take weeks for the fires to be fully extinguished.
A local resident told the BBC the blaze "looked like the apocalypse" and another said it was like watching "ash falling like rain."
Local government workers have said they're praying for a "really good downpour" of rain, which would speed up efforts to extinguish the fire.
"We do need mother nature to help us quite frankly," Brenda Warrington, leader of Tameside Council, said during a press briefing.
"It's as dry as a tinder box up there. A lot of winds are fanning the fire," she added.
Matt Lomas, a resident who was evacuated from his home, told the BBC, it was "really scary" to watch the flames ravage the land near their home.
"We could see flames 50ft high like a raging ball of fire all on the hill side," Lomas said.
Lomas' wife Pauline said it's impossible to see "how bad it is up on the moors now."
"It's fantastic how much everyone is rallying round to look after us and it shows how seriously they are taking it if the Army is getting involved," she added.
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
