More than 80 firefighters have been tackling the Holme Fen Fire near Peterborough since 10:24 BST on Saturday. Video showed smouldering peatland at Holme Fen, where the blaze affected a nature reserve.
The scale of the response gives the clearest picture of how far the fire had spread by Saturday morning. Crews were still working at the reserve after the first call at 10:24 BST, with peatland still smouldering in the area shown in video.
Holme Fen peatland response
Holme Fen is not just open ground. The fire reached peatland inside the reserve, and that kind of ground can keep smouldering after the flames are less visible. More than 80 firefighters were still on scene as the response continued into Saturday.
The reserve had already experienced a fire within the previous two weeks, making this the second blaze there in that period. That leaves the current incident as part of a short run of fires at the same reserve rather than a single isolated outbreak.
Saturday at 10:24 BST
The firefighting effort began at 10:24 BST on Saturday near Peterborough. The timing matters for anyone near Holme Fen because the response was already underway through the morning, with crews committed to a sizeable operation from the start.
What caused the fire at Holme Fen has not been stated in the facts available here. The immediate picture is clear enough: a nature reserve with peatland is still being worked on by more than 80 firefighters, and the site has now had two fires in two weeks.
