Large Moorland fire
Seven fire engines from Greater Manchester joined 10 from West Yorkshire to deal with the incident next to the A58 near Ripponden.
12345At 13:35 hrs Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service was requested to assist West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in fighting a fire on moorland next to the A58 near Ripponden.
The fire had spread and this was assisted by strong winds at the scene. A total of seven fire engines from Greater Manchester joined 10 from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to deal with the incident which has affected approximately seven squares miles of moorland.
At one stage, the flame front was estimated to be two miles long. The Police Helicopters from Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire were used to get an overview of the incident, which caused the A58 to be closed for a time as a safety measure. One firefighter from Greater Manchester was injured at the scene (not directly from the fire) but his injuries are not thought to be serious.
The incident, which could be clearly seen on the moorland above Littleborough created smoke which was spread by the strong winds right across the north of Greater Manchester, as far as Bolton.