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RAF Chinook helicopter also being used as fire rages on outskirts of Manchester

About 100 soldiers have been sent in to tackle a blaze that continues to rage across three miles of moorland in Greater Manchester, after fire chiefs called for military assistance.

An RAF Chinook helicopter was also drafted in to tackle the fires, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday evening, after Theresa May had told MPs the government was keeping the situation under constant review.



Police declared a major incident in an area near Saddleworth Moor on Tuesday night and, on Wednesday afternoon, Greater Manchester fire and rescue said the troops were needed to help transport high-volume water pumps and firefighters to hard-to-reach areas of moorland.

Play Video 0:42 Timelapse footage shows huge fire at Saddleworth Moor – video

The service’s assistant chief fire officer, Dave Keelan, said there was “still a lot of smoke from the fire but air quality levels are being monitored regularly in different locations” on Wednesday afternoon. He added that air quality was at a safe level, meaning some local residents were able to return to their homes.



Council staff were giving out dust masks to residents on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire started on Sunday evening on land near to Buckton Vale, north of Stalybridge. Firefighters were soon able to put it out, but it reignited on Tuesday morning because of the high temperatures.

About 50 homes were evacuated on Tuesday night, including 34 on Calico Crescent in Carrbrook, Stalybridge. Many had returned to their homes by Wednesday afternoon, as 100 firefighters worked to contain the blaze.

Four nearby schools were also closed as a precaution.

About 55 firefighters were set to work throughout Wednesday night to tackle the fires. “We’ve assessed our current position this evening and we have made great progress today thanks to the hard work from of firefighters who have worked tirelessly in really challenging conditions,” said the fire service’s Dean Nankivell.

Earlier in the day, Keelan had said there were seven pockets of fire across the moorlands, though some were smaller fires. “We’ve seen throughout today how conditions can change in five or 10 seconds when wind direction changes,” he said.

“Our crews are doing an admirable job of working very hard in extreme temperatures and will continue to do that.”

Play Video 0:31 Firefighters tackle Manchester moorland fire – video

The same day, Brenda Warrington, the leader of Tameside borough council, said: “We have no idea how long this situation will continue because it’s the weather conditions that will determine that. One of the things we need, and I don’t usually ask for this in this kind of weather, is a really, really good downpour, sustained for quite some time.

“That is the only thing that will deal with this fire. The fire and rescue lads are doing everything they can to contain it and protect us but we do need mother nature to help us, quite frankly.”

Greater Manchester, like much of the rest of Britain, is experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures forecast to have reached 29C on Wednesday. Warrington said the ground in the area was “as dry as a tinder box”.

Jonny Reynolds, the MP for Stalybridge, described the scenes on the moors as “apocalyptic” and “looking like Mordor from Lord of the Rings”.

He said the fire was “on a scale much beyond what we have seen in the past. We do get moorland fires pretty regularly in Saddleworth – most years there is at least one, but this is much worse. Most people are saying it’s the worst moorland fire we’ve had in living memory.”

The impact of the blaze could even be seen from space as Nasa satellites picked up the plumes of smoke.

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On Wednesday morning the air in the streets of Carrbrook was thick with smoke and ash. Fran Maidment, 72, had been evacuated from her flat on Calico Crescent on Tuesday night but decided to return on Wednesday. “This morning I’d had enough. I’m staying here. It’s where I’m comfortable. I’ve got everything I need,” she said.

Maidment described being evacuated from her home as terrifying. “That’s where it started,” she said of the fire, pointing to the brow of the hill. “It went along there in hops, skips and jumps. There was nothing the fire brigade could do. It came down the hill and it got to a stage when I looked out the window and couldn’t see any of those houses across the street because the smoke was so bad.”

Stephen Harrop, who also lives on Calico Crescent, said the smell of smoke was unbearable. “Last night I went outside for a few minutes and my eyes were burning,” he said. “It smells inside the house, even with the windows shut. We had my little boy sleeping in our bedroom with us last night with the fan on.”

This video has been removed. This could be because it launched early, our rights have expired, there was a legal issue, or for another reason. Aerial footage shows Saddleworth Moor fire raging on - video

He said his neighbours had decided to leave because they had a child with asthma.

The fire service advised residents to keep their doors and windows closed and to avoid going out in the smoke. Keelan said the fire service was continuing to sample the air to check it was not harmful.

The fire service has refused to speculate about what had caused the fire. “While the moorlands are a beautiful and fantastic place for people to enjoy and have some good recreation time, we would ask people to be careful with naked flames, cigarettes, barbecues,” said Keelan.

Speaking from the scene on Wednesday morning, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said there would be an investigation into what could be done to stop fires spreading in future. “But we’re fighting the fire, not investigating the fire at the moment,” he said.

“Our priority is getting it under control. It isn’t unusual for something like this to happen, but the size and the scale of it is unlike anything we’ve seen before.”