Fire crew battle yet another blaze on moorland above Oldham

A62 Huddersfield Road during the latest fire

Firefighters from across Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire have, once again, been battling a major blaze on grassland above Oldham over the course of the weekend.

Plumes of smoke could be seen for miles around following reports of a blaze between Marsden and Slaithwaite on Sunday afternoon, forcing crews back up onto the Moors just days after they were battling another fire.

At one stage the latest fire got so bad the A62 was closed in both directions near Saddleworth but it has since reopened.

Crews battled overnight to bring the fire under control and one Monday morning (15th April) it was confirmed that the fire is now out.

It marks the latest in a long line of fires up on the moors over the course of the last month as temperatures start to warm up and with a lack of rainfall leaving much of the area dry enough for a blaze to take hold.

Just hours before the fire started on Sunday afternoon (14th April) Marsden Moor National Trust did post an appeal on social media warning of the dangers of wildfires.

The cause of the latest fire isn’t known but it’s understood investigation work has started to try and find out how it all began.

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