MP plea as wildfire continues for seventh day
Peterborough Voluntary Fire BrigadeA Cambridgeshire MP is calling for more government support as a wildfire at a nature reserve continues to burn for a seventh day.
Sam Carling, the Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire, said "the pressure on local services and water has been immense" due to the ongoing fires in the region, including the blaze at Holme Fen near Peterborough.
In a letter to the Water and Flooding Minister, Emma Hardy, he asked "what the department is doing to alleviate the pressure on our water supply nationally, as well as the measures being taken to prevent blazes in future summers."
The Middle Level Commissioners have closed some waterways in parts of Cambridgeshire to help efforts to put out the fire at Holme Fen that has engulfed half of the 660-acre (270-hectare) site.
The Middle Level Commissioners have managed water levels across the Fens, between the rivers Nene and Great Ouse, since 1862.
Paul Burrows, the Middle Level Commissioners chief executive, said: "It's a decision we have taken due to the uncertainty of water levels in our system."
Firefighters are using supplies from waterways managed by two local drainage authorities, which have now closed locks across the Fens so boats do not end up grounded.
"The last thing we want is for boats to get stuck and ground there, especially as what is happening with the fire in Holme Fen," Burrows told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
"The water levels were slightly lower than we ordinarily expect due to the nature of evaporation with the hot conditions.
"We had a reasonable water level in the system [before the fire]. It won't take much for that to drop quite considerably if these conditions continue."
Several waterways have been closed until the "demand for water to fight the fire is over", the authority said.
These include Yaxley Lode, New Dyke, Monks Lode, Great Raveley Drain, Bevill's Leam, west of the pumping station, and Lodes End Lock, on the Old River Nene.
Peterborough Voluntary Fire BrigadePeterborough and District Angling Association said it had spoken to the Environment Agency and had been told it planned to take water from the River Nene to help tackle the fire.
On social media, the group warned water levels could fall low enough to ground boats and urged anglers to avoid fishing.
It urged people to report any concerns or distressed fish to the agency.
Carling thanked the farming community for coming together to support the fire crews tackling the Holme Fen blaze, which has been described as one of the county's "most challenging incidents" in nearly 30 years.
In his letter, he added: "The community has come together to help, with local farmers stepping in with additional water in order to protect what is one of the last fragments of ancient wild fen.
"I wanted to ask what additional support could be provided by the department in light of the severity of the blaze, the importance of the peatland, and the impact on the surrounding community - with local residents warning that the fire and smoke are moving closer and closer to residential areas.
"Holme Fen is a treasured part of our local community, and I know that residents are very upset at the damage caused. Any extra support would be very much appreciated."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has since chaired a Cobra meeting on the 37 ongoing wildfires across the country. He has also imposed a temporary ban on disposable barbecues, in an effort to prevent further incidents.
Biggleswade Community Fire Station'Difficult incident'
The fire has now reached its seventh day.
On Thursday, area commander Simon Thompson said fire crews had been "working round-the-clock" to bring the blaze under control, with about 95 acres still burning.
"Thanks go out not just to our firefighters on the scene, [who have worked] to the point of exhaustion, but also the farmer community and Natural England and other services who have supported us throughout," he said.
"Our thanks also goes out to all the firefighters' friends and families, who have supported them throughout this time.
"I also want to thank the employers of our on-call volunteer firefighters for releasing them for this incident."
Thompson also praised fellow emergency services and volunteers for their support.
Paul Bristow, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has written to the chief fire officer, Matthew Warren, thanking him for the crews' efforts.
"Please pass on my thanks and appreciation to all the crews who have been working tirelessly since Saturday to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading further," he said.
"I know they are continuing to work in extremely challenging conditions."
On Wednesday, incident commander Vicky Best told the BBC it was "one of the most challenging incidents" the county's fire service had dealt with during her 29-year career.
"It's a very difficult incident, the access is difficult, a lot of equipment is having to be carried to the scenes of the fire," she said.
"We're unable to take vehicles down, so it's very challenging."
Mousumi Bakshi/BBCBrigades from across the East of England and further afield have joined forces at Holme Fen.
As well as Cambridgeshire, there have been crews from Norfolk, Suffolk, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.
Cambridgeshire Fire Service's area commander Wayne Swales said: "We called a major incident on Sunday evening, and what that does is bring in other resources from throughout the country.
"We have had crews from Merseyside, we currently have crews from Hereford, Worcester and London."
Swales compared the conditions for firefighters to "boil in the bag" meals, adding: "The conditions are really hard work for our crews... and that isn't getting any better for them with the current weather conditions."
An amber heat health alert has been issued for the East of England. It came into force at 12:00 BST on Tuesday and runs until 21:00 on Saturday.
Swales said crews were expected to stay at the site "until next week".
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Firefighters first went to the site on 27 July to tackle an initial blaze described as "deep seated in peat", making it likely to burn for longer.
It is being investigated as suspected arson and Cambridgeshire Police has appealed for information.
During the latest fire, a helicopter has been dropping water from Crown Lakes, in Farcet, onto parts of the burning peatland that were difficult to reach.
Anthony Gould, of the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, said getting water "was really difficult".
"We had to get water from a man-made stream using a pump and then [used] several light portable pumps to transport that water from one place to another."
Tom Martin, one of the farmers helping fire crews, described how quickly farmers had mobilised.
"Yesterday, they were worried about running out of water and so within half an hour, there were bowsers turning up, there were sprayers filled with water, farmers laying irrigation pipes as well - so really coming out in force to save this amazing bit of woodland," he said.
Martin said farmers had gone back on Sunday evening after a call for machinery to help create fire breaks.
"We could see fire starting up again, kind of spontaneously, flames rising up and being put out as this kind of really dry peat, these old trees, were setting back on fire. And as we were cutting a break, we could smell the smoke," he added.
"We could see just people working phenomenally hard."
Tom Jackson/BBCSeveral local roads remain closed, including the junctions of Hod Fen Drove and Holme Lode, Long Drove and the B660, and New Long Drove.
People have been urged to stay away from the reserve, managed by Natural England.
The Wildlife Trust has also asked people to keep dogs on leads until the fire is fully out.
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