High risk alert as wildfire takes days to extinguish

NORTHUMBERLAND Fire and Rescue Service has warned that the risk of wildfires remains extremely high across the county after crews battled a large blaze in Wark forest this week.

- JAMES ROBINSON Local Democracy Reporter

Three crews from Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) were joined by colleagues from Cumbria and an RAF appliance to tackle the fire, which began at around 5pm on Tuesday. More than 4,000 square metres of young trees, grassland and bracken has been burnt in the incident.

The fire service say that the wildfire was "quickly contained". However, it became "deep-seated" and some hotspots took days to fully extinguish and reduce the risk of the fire re-igniting and spreading.

It follows a spell of very dry weather, with little rain and higher than average temperatures. Robert Stacey, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service Wildfire Team Leader, emphasized the growing threat.