The fire service has issued a stark warning after numerous people today had barbecues on the moors during the coronavirus lockdown.
Chiefs have blasted it as extremely dangerous and posing a "huge risk" at a time when resources are stretched.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week ordered the entire country to stay at home except for medical needs, shopping for essentials, exercising, looking after someone, or working if it cannot be done from home.
Yet Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said today: "Despite Government advice to stay at home today we've had reports of lots of people having barbecues on the moorlands and this is very dangerous.
"It pose a huge risk of fire, is a risk to the environment and ties up our firefighters who may be needed for more serious incidents."
The fire service has already announced it is scaling back any non-emergency work during the Covid-19 pandemic so it can prioritise emergency calls.
And they added: "Now - more than ever - we need people to stay safe and be sensible!"
On Tuesday police had to break up a group of people having a barbecue in Sackville Gardens in Manchester city centre.
However the spectre of another moor fire will ring serious alarm bells with fire chiefs given the scale of recent incidents in the region.
There have been a number of moor fires in neighbouring West Yorkshire in recent weeks.
Crews in Greater Manchester spent three weeks tackling a huge sprawling wildlife on Saddleworth Moor which broke out in June 2018 and covered an area of around seven square miles at its peak.
Around 100 soldiers as well as crews from across the country were drafted as part of the mammoth operation.
There is now a strict ban on barbecues in the area for which people can be fined.
But it appears the rule are continuing to be flouted.
Today police in Derbyshire had to tell people to stop driving to the peak district for day trips.
They said: "What a lovely day! The perfect day to drive up into the #PeakDistrict for a walk, bike ride, climb or horse ride, isn’t it? No, actually it isn’t.
"We’re seeing a lot of confusion over whether people are allowed to travel to the Peaks to undertake daily exercise while the government are asking us to stay at home. While we have this fantastic space in our county, right now is not the time to be using it."
Police have seemingly so far merely been advising those unnecessarily outside to return home immediately but they will soon have powers to fine people if they do not have legitimate reason to be outdoors as the country desperately tries to halt the spread of the virus.
