Heavy rain creates 'another challenge' for Holme Fen crews

A fire service has said recent spells of heavy rain have created "another challenge" for crews tackling a peatland fire which has been burning for nearly a month.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service thanked local farmers and organisations for helping them control the blaze at Holme Fen Nature Reserve, near Peterborough, which started on 8 August.

A spokesperson for the service said: "Whilst the rainfall has raised the moisture content of the peat, it is impacting the ability for heavy machinery to be used to clear the area."

Yellow weather warnings for lightning and heavy rain were issued for parts of the region last week, resulting in flash floods in Peterborough .

A spokesperson said the rain created "another challenge for crews responding".

They added: "Despite the heavy rainfall over the last day or so, the risk remains for wildfires" after "such a long, dry prolonged period".

"We'd still urge people to be extra careful and follow our safety advice," they added.

The fire service said it was "regularly reviewing" the situation at the site, with firefighters expected to continue in the area until September.

The fire service thanked everyone who helped with the response, including local farmers.

On Facebook it said: "We were inundated with offers of help in the initial stages and the willingness from the local farmers to do all they could to support our firefighting tactics was very much appreciated."

It also thanked multiple organisations for their involvement as part of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum.

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