A Holme Fen Tinderbox at Holme Fen Nature Reserve near Peterborough has spread across an area roughly the size of 60 football pitches. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was still dynamic on Tuesday, with crews continuing to work at the site.
At least 10 fire engines have been attending every day. The reserve sits close to the main London to Edinburgh railway line, adding another layer of pressure for crews trying to track a blaze that is moving below the surface as well as across it.
Cambridgeshire fire crews at Holme Fen
The service said: "This is a very large site, so getting the scale of the situation right is a challenge, as the incident situation is still dynamic." It added: "In terms of the size of the affected area, it roughly equates to around 60 football pitches."
The same spokesman said: "However, the fire spread is underground as well as what people can see on the surface, so it is really difficult to fully see how far it has spread at this stage." That leaves crews dealing with fire that can keep moving even where the surface looks unchanged.
Andy Burnham on disposable barbecues
Andy Burnham said on Wednesday in Stevenage that he was "certainly going to consider" a ban on disposable barbecues. He said the UK government was considering banning disposable barbecues to help prevent wildfires during the country's extreme summer heat.
Burnham also said: "There is obviously a significant problem of wildfires in the south" and urged people not to use disposable barbecues outdoors under the current conditions. He said he wanted the Cobra meeting to send a clear message about the risks posed by disposable barbecues and cigarettes in the countryside.
Met Office amber warning
The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across parts of England on Thursday, with temperatures expected to reach 35C+ and highs of 36-37C possible, especially across the Midlands, east and south-east. The UK Met Office said on Tuesday that the country was on course to record its hottest summer on record for average temperature if average conditions continued through the rest of August.
Holme Fen has already seen two separate fires in recent weeks, and the latest one started on Saturday. For anyone near the reserve, the immediate issue is not a finished fire line but a long, underground burn that crews are still trying to map while the heat remains high.
