Huge fire blazing on Marsden Moor destroying £200,000 of special habitat was started by barbecue

Fire Crews from West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester have been battling throughout the night to try to bring the blaze under control.

It started around Easter Gate on Sunday evening and has spread across Close Moss.

Crews are currently using ten water pumps and a helicopter has been deployed from 9am this morning, taking water from nearby reservoirs to the fire.

Trained National Trust Rangers and volunteers are also currently assisting in beating down flames with specialist equipment.

A National Trust spokeswoman said: "At present it is estimated that an investment of more than £200,000 in restoring this special habitat has been lost.

"The deployment of the helicopter itself costs the National Trust, a conservation charity, £2000 per hour."

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More than 300 hectares of moorland are affected - much larger than the 50 acres of moorland that were affected by the blaze on Ilkley Moor over the weekend.

Several fires have started in the area in this year alone, but this is believed to be the largest.

Smoke can be seen for miles around and police have closed A640 Denshaw to Huddersfield Road in both directions because of fire and smoke.

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Craig Best, Lead Ranger for the National Trust at Marsden Moor, said: "We would really encourage everyone please not to enter the moorland, go for a walk, have a picnic on the moorland with a barbecue and we would especially request that people extinguish cigarettes."

Marsden Moor is a special place for upland birds, including merlin, which nest on the ground.

It’s likely that the biggest loss of wildlife will be nesting birds such as curlew, and mountain hares that inhabit this area of the moorland.

Marsden Moor is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation due to the ground nesting bird population and blanket bog habitat.

A significant fire on February 27 damaged 121 square hectares with four separate smaller fires reported and extinguished since

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The spokeswoman added: "We’re devastated to see the destruction caused. Please help us protect the moors and wildlife by calling the fire brigade immediately if you spot any signs of fire.

"We need our visitors’ help to prevent the risk of fire across the countryside that we care for, particularly when we experience prolonged periods of dry weather or are in drought conditions.

"People can make all the difference in limiting this risk by just following simple measures included in the countryside code such as ensuring they take home any litter, making sure any lit cigarettes are properly extinguished and disposed of responsibly, to never light fires and only use BBQs in authorised areas.

"The National Trust has been working in partnership with Moors for the Future and Yorkshire Water, for a number of years to rewet Marsden Moor, which helps reduce the risk of wildfires and reduces downstream flooding.

"We recognise the need to proactively manage and reduce wildfire risk and our ranger team and volunteers regularly monitor the moorland to spot signs of fire.

"We also train our staff and volunteers on an annual basis to manage fires."