Shocking photos show the extent of second wildfire in the north of England
A second fire has been declared a major incident in the north of England, just days after an "apocalyptic" fire raged a week on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester.
The blaze at Winter Hill, near Bolton, has been burning for five days and reports say up to 100 firefighters from across the country have been called in to deal with the fire.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) declared a major incident on Sunday morning after the Winter Hill wildfire merged with a separate hillside fire to the northwest of Bolton due to strong winds.
According to the BBC, 17 fire engines were on the scene at Winter Hill "overnight from Sunday into Monday" and LFRS said "full firefighting operations" were in operation at day break.
Per a LFRS tweet, the number of fire engines at the scene was increased as of first thing this morning. "At first light this morning, the number of fire engines at the scene increased to 22 from 17 overnight," reads the tweet.
The fire service tweeted footage taken from the top of Winter Hill early this morning, where crews were "beating down hot spots."
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One local fire station tweeted that it had "lost count of how many hours" they had spent "up on the hills and the moors." They thanked locals for their support that has spurred them on, "be it a kind word shouted from a passing car or donated refreshments."
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Lancashire Police warned members of the public to avoid Winter Hill as the fires raged on, but one man had to be rescued after collapsing at Pike Tower.
"We’re really concerned that members of the public are heading up onto the moors. We really appreciate your offer to help but public safety is a priority and we ask people to stay away," read one tweet posted by LFRS.
Residents have been warned to keep windows and doors shut until the fire is under control.
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.
