Rakes Moss fire is now out

The fire at Rakes Moss is now believed to be out and firefighters have left the moorland. 

Firefighters first began tackling the fire at Rakes Moss on Thursday 23 April 2020.

Crews from across Derbyshire, supported by colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Peak Park Rangers, landowners United Utilities and the RSPB have all been working in challenging conditions to extinguish the fire and prevent its spread to protect the ecosystem and wildlife in the area. 

Station Manager Colin Winterbottom said: “Despite the fire being out, there is still a lot of hard work to be undertaken as we start to remove all of the firefighting equipment that has been supporting firefighting operations. All partners are supporting the withdrawal of equipment which I expect to take a further 24 hours. 

“We will continue to monitor the moorland and will be looking to hand it back into the care of the RSPB and landowners, United Utilities in the next couple of days. 

“Whilst there has been a huge amount of work taking place to bring the incident to the safest and quickest conclusion, there has also been an enormous effort to keep everyone working on the moorland fed and watered.

"For this I would like to say thank you to all of the volunteers from the Salvation Army, who despite the current Covid-19 restrictions, came along to support the incident and keep everyone fuelled and ready to work."

A fire investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.