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Four fires broke out on Saddleworth Moor and Marsden Moor on Tuesday (April 7)
Fire crews attending the moorland blaze near Uppermill(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
- Four fires erupted on moorlands over Greater Manchester on Tuesday afternoon (April 7), sending plumes of smoke billowing over the region and nearby West Yorkshire.
- Major roads were closed off by emergency services, between Oldham and Huddersfield, after two blazes broke out on Saddleworth Moor, and a further two on nearby Marsden Moor.
- The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were called to one blaze near to the Pots and Pans monument, close to Uppermill at around 2.20pm, which took a number of hours to get under control. Roads around the Kiln Green area were blocked off amid the incident.
- Crews were then also called out to a separate ‘large’ fire on Saddleworth Moor, near to Holmfirth Road, which was completely closed off from Greenfield. The fire service urged local residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
- At the same time, Huddersfield Road was closed off in both directions between Delph and Marsden after two other fires broke out and masked the area with smoke near Marsden Moor.
- The two blazes prompted an urgent evacuation order to be put in place. Anyone in the area was told to immediately leave by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service after the fires had broken out near the Deer Hill and the Five Mile Post areas.
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