A wildfire is continuing to burn on moorland near Greater Manchester.
The blaze broke out on Marsden Moor, over the West Yorkshire border from Saddleworth, at around 1.30pm yesterday afternoon (Monday). Huge plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the moorland.
Just after 4.30pm, the fire was reported to be 500m x 500m in size. It then grew to cover an area of around 1km x 1km, the fire service said.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
A number of fire crews were scrambled, as well as the drone unit and wildfire support. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service told the Manchester Evening News that the blaze was the seventh fire on Marsden Moor so far this year.
In an update issued today, the fire service said the blaze, at Wessenden Lodge, is still ongoing. Firefighters are continuing to work to try and stop the blaze from spreading.
Large plumes of smoke are continuing to billow over the moorland. People are being urged to keep away.
A tweet posted by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service at around 11.45am today said: "The fire on Marsden Moor is still ongoing as our firefighters battle to stop the blaze from spreading.
"Crews are still at the site at Wessenden Lodge, Wessenden Road, Marsden. The public are being advised to stay away."
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
- “My daughters are frightened”: Terrified mum exposes plague of 'cat-sized' rats causing chaos in neighbourhood
- Gay Village adult store Clonezone attacked for FOURTH time in two months as CCTV captures thugs on red motorbike
- Man and woman arrested on suspicion of attempted murder as victim left fighting for life after intruder attack
- Killing of schoolgirl Emily Jones at hands of paranoid schizophrenic 'could not have been predicted'
- Emergency services swarm street as two people cut from Audi that was flipped over onto roof in crash
