Recent aerial photographs show firefighters continuing to tackle a peatland blaze that broke out 11 days ago.
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service stated last week that the incident at Holme Fen, situated near Peterborough, covers an expanse measuring roughly 60 football pitches and is deeply entrenched within the peat.
Formed in wetlands over thousands of years through the partial decay of organic plant matter, peat allows blazes to spread beneath the ground. Such fires are "notoriously difficult to extinguish", according to the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire on its website for The Great Fen.
The organisation describes Holme Fen as a "thriving nature reserve" featuring Holme Post, which, at 2.75 metres below sea level, is considered the lowest point of land in Great Britain.
Crews are expected to remain at the site "for the foreseeable future" as they work to maintain emergency cover elsewhere.
The fire started on August 8, with more than 80 firefighters on scene including from neighbouring fire and rescue services during the operation that has followed.
Incident commander Wayne Swales said in an earlier update that vegetation had been on fire as well as peat burning below the ground.
He said crews were dealing with “fires above ground, fires below ground” and described the fire as “challenging”.
Firefighters have been checking for hotspots and dampening down the area, and advising people who are still seeing or smelling smoke in the area that it is “likely still coming from Holme Fen”.
Matt Jackson, conservation director at the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, said recent wildfires have been a “stark wake-up call”.
He said: “We must invest in climate resilience if we are to tackle the impacts prolonged heatwaves and drought are having on landscapes, nature and communities across the UK.
“This means working to restore and protect our natural infrastructure, including wetlands and peatlands – which act as sponges, storing carbon and holding water in our landscapes, and reversing decades of drainage impacts to make them less flammable in years to come.”
He said the trust is working to restore peatlands and raise water levels to “build natural resilience and tackle the threat of wildfire”.
Last week, the Environment Agency reported that the River Nene in Cambridgeshire has been affected by its water being used to fight the wildfire on the Holme Fen nature reserve.
Levels in the river have dropped far enough to be classed as “notably low” by the agency.
