Moorland inferno destroys brush at Haydon Bridge

Jun 11 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

IT looks more like a Martian landscape than a patch of summertime Northumberland countryside. But the reddish sky in this startling image is the aftermath of a massive moorland blaze.

The fire started at about 2pm on Monday on moorland at Grindon Farm, near Haydon Bridge, and spread over an area of 10,000 square feet.

More than 24 hours later work was still being carried out to make the area safe.

Four fire crews, the Northumbria Police helicopter and specialist wild fire teams worked throughout Monday afternoon and into the evening to bring the blaze under control.

Smoke was visible from at least 10 miles away, and even with the fire out was still pouring across the countryside in the early evening.

Fire crews also had to tackle a fire that flared up again towards the southern edge of the site at about 10.30pm on Monday, but that was brought under control about 20 minutes later.

More than 30 firefighters helped tackle the blaze, and access roads were closed by police due to the drifting smoke.

The blaze left the area looking like an alien landscape, with the brush destroyed and the sky turned a pink colour by the smoke.

The fire started in warm sunshine with a slight breeze, which did not help the emergency crews.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze, the cause of which is yet to be established.

A Northumbria Fire and Rescue spokesman said: “We have had fire crews from Haydon Bridge visiting the site damping down hot spots.

“Our crews will also be visiting the site every three hours to check that it is not re-igniting.”