Summary

  • Firefighters say a major blaze at Holme Fen Nature Reserve near Peterborough is "surrounded"

  • A fire commander says trees are falling "in and around" the crews

  • A helicopter is dropping water on the burning peatland

  • The wildfire broke out on Saturday morning and is the second at the reserve in a fortnight

  • People living nearby describe the "devastating" impact on the countryside

Live Reporting

Written by Shariqua Ahmed and Aimee Dexter; Edited by Andrew Woodger and Gareth George

  1. 'To know it is being destroyed is horrible'

    Tom Jackson
    in Holme

    Mark Whittington, 50, is the landlord of The Admiral Wells, in Holme.

    He tells me he walks his dogs at the nature reserve.

    "This peat has been there for thousands of years, so to know it is being destroyed, and as quickly as it is, is horrible."

    Mark Whittington has short grey hair. He is wearing black framed glasses and a black T-shirt. He is standing in front of a bar which is made out of wood.Tom Jackson/BBC

  2. A large plume of smoke can be seen from miles away.

    A large grey plume of smoke over the dry fields, under a blue sky.

  3. 'Good progress has been made'

    The fire service says the blaze is "now surrounded".

    A spokesperson adds that "good progress has been made, and crews are continuing to work to extinguish it".

    Because it is peatland, firefighters say it could take some time to fully extinguish it.

  4. Engines lined up

    A line of fire engines on the road next to a field.

    Crews were initially called out on Saturday morning from stations across the west of Cambridgeshire. Also scrambled were the north roaming fire engine, a water carrier from Ramsey and a specialist 4x4 vehicle from Thorney.

    Engines remain as we approach Monday lunchtime.

  5. Plea to avoid the area

    A large green space on fire with grey plumes of smoke and a fire fighter in a blue uniform and yellow helmet using a hosepipe to put the fire out.Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service

    Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is asking people to avoid the area.

    "It is very busy with emergency vehicles and it also for your own safety due to the hazards in the area," a spokesperson said.

  6. What is Holme Fen?

    A drainage channel running between woodland either side which consists of large trees, hedges and long grass.James T M Towill/Geograph

    Just south of Peterborough, between Yaxley, Stilton and Ramsey, the nature reserve spans about 660 acres (270 hectares).

    The site, which is managed by Natural England, is 2.75m below sea level and the lowest land point in Great Britain.

    It used to be the site of Whittlesey Mere, which was the largest lake in southern England. In the 1850s, it was drained to create farmland.

    This became Holme Fen and survives as one of the only fragments of ancient wild fen, along with Wicken Fen on the other side of Cambridgeshire, which is run by the National Trust.

    Holme Fen is home to over 500 types of fungi, a birch woodland, an ancient bog, heathland and it hosts a variety of birds, including the Eurasian siskin, nightingale and lesser redpoll.

  7. Volunteers serve 210 burgers to crews

    Firefighters and other emergency service personnel queue up at a covered stall serving burgers and bacon rolls. The servers are dressed in black trousers and T-shirt. A fire engine can be seen behind a hedge in the background.Tom Jackson/BBC

    Volunteers from the Rapid Relief Team charity, which is based in St Neots in Cambs, have been at the Admiral Pub in Holme since 20:30 on Sunday, providing food and drinks for crews battling the blaze.

    Graham Rodger said: "We got the grills going and we served a burger meal for the firefighters in through about one o'clock this morning. I think we served about 210 burgers in total, then drinks and refreshments."

    He said many firefighters had gone all day without eating before the team arrived.

    "When we first arrived here on the site, many of them had had nothing to eat all day and they were really appreciative of actually just getting food to keep them going in their efforts to contain the fire," said Rodger (pictured below).

    Graham, a man in a blue T-shirt. He is wearing a blue skull cap and a red lanyard, looking into the camera.Tom Jackson/BBC

    Bacon rolls were on the breakfast menu on Monday, with volunteers expected to remain on site until lunchtime.

  8. Flames rage in video captured by firefighters

    Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade was one of the many teams responding to the incident on Sunday. Anthony Gould from the brigade shot these videos.

  9. Farmers pull together to help with fire

    A green tractor is on a road near a junction. It is pulling a trailer which has a green water carrier. A silver car is behind the tractor.Tom Jackson/BBC

    Farmers from the surrounding area have been lending a helping hand to the emergency service, led by the Cambridgeshire Countryside Watch team.

    They have been bringing in equipment, including water carriers.

  10. 'Really difficult to fight'

    Anthony Gould is standing in a white room. There is a window behind him. Gould has short brown hair and is wearing a white shirt.Shariqua Ahmed/BBC

    Anthony Gould, from Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade, was one of the 80 firefighters helping to tackle the blaze on Sunday.

    "Peat is really unusual to fight as it [the fire] doesn't just sit on the surface it gets below the ground and can spread without you knowing," he says.

    "So it gets kind of intense and is really difficult to fight, and can last for an awful long time."

    He says no recent rainfall has "presented a real big problem".

  11. 'The nature reserve is important to the community'

    Tom Jackson
    at Holme

    Dawn England has blonde hair in a ponytail and a long fringe. She is wearing a white T-shirt and is standing inside a pub. There is a wooden bar on the right.Tom Jackson/BBC

    Dawn England is the landlady of The Admiral Wells pub in Holme - just over a mile from the nature reserve.

    She tells me the reserve is "really important" both to the local community and to visitors. She says it has been "devastating" to witness the fire.

    The pub has been supporting fire crews and additional emergency personnel by making its car park available and supplying food and water.

  12. More details about the incident

    Fire services were called just before 10:30 BST on Saturday to a fire in the open at Holme Fen.

    Firefighters from Dogsthorpe, Stanground, Whittlesey, Huntingdon, Thorney, St Neots, Ramsey and Sawston, and a crew from Oundle in Northamptonshire were sent.

    Crews arrived to find a fire involving hedges and undergrowth well alight.

    The fire was deep seated in peat and was expected to take some time to fully extinguish, a Cambs Fire Service spokesperson said at the weekend.

    The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.

    The fire services has urged members of the public to stay away from the area while the incident is ongoing.

  13. No impact on trains 'at present'

    There is a large woodland on the left which is on fire. A large plume of grey smoke fills the left side of the picture. There is a railway line on the right which runs alongside the woodland.Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service

    The nature reserve is next door to the main railway line between London and Edinburgh.

    Peterborough is the nearest station about five miles north of the fire, with Huntingdon about 10 miles to the south.

    A spokesperson for Network Rail says the fire is having "no operation impact at present" and they are monitoring the situation.

  14. Road closures in place

    A firefighter in a blue uniform and a yellow helmet, using a hose pipe to put the fire out on what looks like burnt field.Peterborough Voluntary Fire Brigade

    Several local roads around the nature reserve have been closed.

    The junction of Hod Fen Drove and Holme Lode has been shut, as has the junction of Long Drove for the B660 and New Long Drove, and all of Holme Lode.

    Visitors are advised to stay clear of the area, which is managed by Natural England, and the Beds, Cambs & Northants Wildlife Trust asked people to keep dogs on a lead, until confirmation that the fire had been fully extinguished.

  15. More than 80 firefighters tackling large nature reserve blaze

    Smoke can be seen in the sky, with trees burning and red fire engines parked on the side road. The image is a drone image.Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Services

    Firefighters have remained on the scene overnight

    More than 80 firefighters are on site of a fire at Holme Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire.

    The blaze, which began on Saturday morning, is the second fire at the reserve, between Peterborough and Ramsey, in less than two weeks.

    Crews have remained at the scene into Monday, with a number of local road closures still in place.