This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Firefighters from across the north of England and Midlands have travelled to Greater Manchester to help control fires that have destroyed at least 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres) of moorland over the past week.

Crews from Cumbria, Tyne and Wear, Nottingham, Humberside and Warwickshire joined teams from Lancashire and Greater Manchester tackling fires in Saddleworth, east of Manchester, and on Winter Hill, north-west of Bolton.

Two large-scale fires merged on Saturday due to increasing wind speed, and a major incident was declared as crews tackled the blaze. Lancashire fire and rescue service said it was dealing with “a rapidly developing, aggressive fire across all vegetation types, including woodlands”.

Fires on Winter Hill and Scout Road near Bolton have merged, with pedestrians and motorists urged to stay away from the scene. Twenty-two fire crews had been working on the blaze since 4.30am on Sunday, Lancashire fire and rescue said.

Particular efforts have been made to protect a 309-metre telecommunications mast on Winter Hill, which provides TV and radio coverage for at least 7 million people. At 10pm on Saturday Arqiva, which provides broadcast infrastructure, tweeted: “The fire has diminished in the area surrounding the Winter Hill mast and there is growing confidence that there will be no service disruption.”

A battalion of soldiers recently returned from Iraq have stayed on in Saddleworth to help firefighters working 12-hour shifts to try to extinguish the 18 sq km (7 sq mile) fire that has been raging for seven days. They arrived on Thursday morning for a 48-hour deployment, but have been asked to stay on.

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

Staff from the nearby Peak District national park had also been working with fire crews, providing “vehicles, supplementary equipment, logistics support and local access expertise in the hard to reach places”, the park authority said.

Operation FireWatch has been declared in the Peak District, with staff and volunteers in place at moorland vantage points to look out for fires.

A gamekeeper for the Stalybridge estate, where the fire near Saddleworth Moor is believed to have started, told the Sunday Times he believed youths on scrambler bikes may have been responsible for the blaze.

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Richard Burch told the newspaper he got a phone call last Sunday saying there was smoke on the moor. He said he went up there and saw “four bikers who had made a sort of racecourse with jumps. There were tyre tracks all over and that’s where the fire started.”

He said he reported it immediately to police. But on Thursday fire chiefs said they were “not confident” of finding out how the fire began, and had no evidence it had been started by BBQs or off-road bikers.

Greater Manchester fire and rescue service (GMFRS) said it had 18 crews out on both fires, with more expected to join on Sunday. It tweeted: “The object of today is to continue to control and if possible reduce both incidents. Some people have reported smelling smoke or ash settling on their properties.”

Though many people locally have reported breathing difficulties, Public Health England said pollution levels were low across the north-west.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Soldiers from the Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland working with Greater Manchester fire and rescue service near Saddleworth Moor. Photograph: Sergeant Donald Todd (RLC)/PA

The first moorland fire – near Saddleworth Moor – started last Sunday amid Britain’s heatwave and has devastated surrounding land around Carrbrook.

AGMFRS’s assistant chief fire officer, Dave Keelan, said: “This is an exceptionally challenging time and I am proud of the hard work and brave commitment of our firefighters.”

Lancashire fire service area manager Tony Cook said “very intensive firefighting” was taking place on Winter Hill, including personnel doing shuttle runs in appliances to get water to the scene while others manually tried to beat the fire out.

Firebreak trenches are also being dug to try to protect local buildings.

Fire chiefs have warned the fires could smoulder for several weeks as weather forecasters warned no significant rain was expected this week.

Met Office forecaster Helen Roberts said: “The trend is for dry and very warm weather, which is far from ideal. Thunderstorms in the south-west are unlikely to reach that far north. On Wednesday, there is the potential for showers in that vicinity but it could be a one-off, isolated and unlikely to hit the area.”

Fire chiefs thanked members of the public for their support after fire stations received many donations of food and water.

On Saturday, Lancashire fire and rescue tweeted a plea for anyone willing to offer use of an all-terrain vehicle.

It was immediately bombarded with offers. “You’re a smashing bunch of people. We’re doing our best to message everyone back and passing on viable option details to our team. Thank you again Lancashire for all the love and support!” it tweeted.