Fylingdales Moor blaze investigation a reminder of the cost of carelessness - Carl Les

Our continuing support is needed to help those affected by the wildfire, recognising the outstanding efforts of the local farmers, landowners and wider community who fought the blaze with whatever they had, despite the obvious risks.

Businesses were also impacted by reporting of the wildfire and the vast smoke plumes at the height of the summer holiday season.

With spring now upon us, we need to make sure that everyone is aware that the North York Moors is open for business, and the visitor economy plays its vital role over the coming months.

Our beautiful county attracts visitors from across the globe who witness all that North Yorkshire has to offer. Tourism is worth more than £4bn to the local economy and 32.2 million people came to North Yorkshire in 2024, both day and overnight visitors, which is an increase of 3.8 per cent on 2023.

But this has to be balanced with a concerted effort to ensure that what we witnessed last summer is not repeated this year or in the future. I know that there will be a high-profile publicity campaign over the coming months to warn people how their actions could cause another outbreak of fire.

We want people to come and enjoy our stunning landscapes and all that North Yorkshire has to offer, but they must do that responsibly. A barbeque in the sunshine or a carelessly discarded cigarette can have a profound impact that will be felt for generations to come.

As we all digest the findings of the report into the cause of the wildfire, I make no apology to repeat our thanks to the fire crews, partners and council staff, and especially the community volunteers, farmers and others, who supported the massive response effort. There was a broad range of practical and tactical help, and the efforts of people and businesses who fought the blaze were invaluable.

The scorched heathlands are a vivid reminder of the brutal force of nature that will have a profound effect for years. At its height, the blaze covered 20 square kilometres, ten times the size of the Great Fire of London.

What is less obvious are the emotional scars that have been felt by our communities and businesses that were affected by the blaze.

And these psychological effects may be resurfacing again for many of those affected after we have learnt what could have caused the wildfire, and what could have been prevented.

Our rural communities are already facing significant challenges as the farming sector is battling escalating costs alongside the impact of ever more unpredictable weather conditions.

I would urge the Government to commit to the request for more than £3m to deal with the terrible environmental impact of the fire.

Frustratingly we are still waiting on any response to our further request, as responding partners, for the hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation from Westminster to support those people and businesses affected. This matter is absolutely critical.

There is already a framework in place for providing funding to deal with flooding disasters, but inexplicably this does not cover other extreme weather events, and we need this to be replicated to have a blueprint that deals with a far wider remit.

We repeat our offer to work with the Government to draw on our own experiences in North Yorkshire to help to develop such a plan for dealing with the aftermath of disasters such as the Fylingdales Moor fire.

Nonetheless we will continue to support the recovery via the council-chaired recovery coordination group and to support those impacted even now by what happened at the height of the tourist season in one of our most beautiful places.

If anyone needs support in dealing with these please get in touch with our Major Incident Response Team (MIRT). The team can provide confidential emotional and practical support from specially trained volunteers. They can be contacted anytime on 07974 745194 or by emailing [email protected]

What happened over the summer of last year had a profound impact on our communities. But amidst the anguish and pain caused by the wildfire, the strength and resilience of our residents and businesses came to the fore.

We need to honour that collective effort which contained the disaster and made sure that the flames did not have an even greater impact.

To do this, we need people to be aware of the fire risks and to secure the support of the Government to help our communities recover from a moment that will never be forgotten by so many.

Coun Carl Les is the leader of North Yorkshire Council.