Investigation into the fire

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has concluded a detailed investigation into the Fylingdales Moor wildfire.

Following extensive enquiries, including the taking of witness statements, the review of footage and videos, detailed inspection of the site and analysis of fire patterns, the cause of the fire is believed to have been caused by cooking with a naked flame, such as a campfire or gas burner.

The incident was particularly challenging due to its location in a very remote area of moorland, with limited water supplies and difficult access for emergency responders. It serves as a stark reminder of how quickly wildfires can take hold, especially during hot, dry and windy conditions like those experienced last summer.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is reviewing and strengthening its wildfire response capability. This includes increasing the number of specialist wildfire teams, enhancing equipment, vehicles and protective clothing, and putting formal agreements in place with partner organisations to support the response to major incidents.

We are also reminding everyone who visits the countryside to follow safety advice to help prevent wildfires and protect our landscapes. This includes respecting restrictions on camping and lighting barbecues or campfires, taking litter home, and disposing of smoking materials responsibly.

Support for those affected

As communities and businesses digest the cause of the worst wildfire North Yorkshire has ever experienced, we want to reassure everyone that we continue to coordinate and drive forward the recovery efforts, both environmental and economic, on behalf of North Yorkshire.
We know that moments like this can trigger reflection and memories which may be difficult, and if anyone needs support in dealing with these please get in touch with our Major Incident Response Team (MIRT). The team can provide confidential emotional and practical support for those who have been affected by this incident. Team members are specially trained and can be contacted anytime on 07974 745194 or by emailing MIRT@northyorks.gov.uk.

If you would like to find out more about community support available email community.recovery@northyorks.gov.uk.

On behalf of our residents and businesses, the Recovery Coordination Group continues to press government for three main things:

1. Firebreak funding

Around £3million to restore the extensive firebreaks dug during the response to the blaze to contain it. There are approximately 50km of these firebreaks and unfortunately restoring them is not straight forward. It is not as simple as putting back in what was taken out. The area is one of Special Scientific Interest, the ecology is very delicate and the site is littered with military items dating back to its days as a military firing range.

These include unexploded ordnance and during the incident there were more than 20 bomb 'cook offs' or explosions. At the height of the blaze a million litres of water a day was being used to fight the flames. With strong gusts of wind producing a powerful flame front over the August bank holiday weekend this resulted in the fire jumping the B1416.

The firebreaks need careful restoration, which is not straight forward but is critical to the rich environment of the national park. Following the wet winter it is now a race against time to manage environmental erosion and protect the ancient monuments uncovered by the blaze. There is reason for some hope on this ask but we await confirmation from government.

2. Help for local farmers, graziers, landowners and businesses

£400,000 to support local farmers, graziers, landowners and businesses directly impacted. This sum would be the maximum in what we describe as 'unrecoverable costs' (or costs with no obvious alternative funding route) if the government’s own flooding funding framework applied to other extreme weather events, like wildfires.

This would be used to compensate the direct damage and loss incurred by local people and businesses who fought the fire, farmers, landowners and graziers who have lost access to or use of their land as a result of the fire impacts, businesses evacuated or impacted by visitors not wishing to holiday in the area at the height of the tourism season, and businesses impacted by road closures in place to protect the public.

Both of these asks were outlined in a letter to government in November last year. To date we have received no response at all on this specific ask. There are three main common graziers still impacted by loss of grazing for their stock. While we are supporting them as best we can, proper compensation for all those impacted is critical.

3. Weather funding framework

A new extreme weather funding framework. We understand this is a complex situation and needs consideration by government, but we have offered to work with departments based on our experience of this major incident, help develop a funding framework that could be activated in the future, and provide clarity for people and businesses in similar circumstances.

The national flooding framework would be the natural staring place for the development of such a scheme looking ahead. We would welcome the chance to speak to government departments more on this.

As we continue to press for the above we are seeking a meeting with government departments involved, including the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Trade and Business. We will keep you informed of progress.

Environment and infrastructure

The North York Moors National Park Authority continues to lead the environmental recovery as part of a coordinated partnership response. Bringing together Natural England, Historic England, the Strickland Estate, the Duchy of Lancaster Estate, the Fyling Court Leet and Fylingdales Moor ESS Ltd, to oversee recovery and ensure work is carefully coordinated.

Once the fire was stepped down as a major incident and it was safe to move from emergency response into recovery, the North York Moors National Park Authority, alongside Yorkshire Peat Partnership and Historic England, began detailed environmental assessment work. Surveys assessed the extent and condition of the firebreak network, alongside the areas most at risk from erosion. This work was initially limited to established routes due to safety constraints, before expanding more fully following the Ministry of Defence assessment in late November and the lifting of access restrictions.

North York Moors National Park Authority has since carried out emergency stabilisation works at John Cross Rigg, a nationally important archaeological site within the fire-affected area, where biodegradable coir matting has been installed to protect exposed peat and fragile earthworks, giving the land the best possible chance to recover. Monitoring of vegetation regrowth, peat condition and ground stability is ongoing, alongside technical assessments of firebreaks, to ensure any reinstatement works strengthen, rather than undermine, long-term peatland health.

Alongside these urgent measures, a draft three-year moorland recovery framework has been developed to guide the next phase of restoration. Discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding recovery plans are progressing positively, and work with the Yorkshire Peat Partnership will help shape peatland repair, including the re-establishment of sphagnum moss and careful hydrological restoration.

Progress has also been made in installing fencing to allow the safe and controlled return of grazing, supported through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, providing practical help for landowners, farmers and graziers whose livelihoods have been affected.

This is a vast and complex landscape and regeneration will take time.

The fire was devastating, stripping vegetation and exposing the remaining peat and historic features to the winter elements. It has also underlined how precious and vulnerable this place is. With climate change bringing longer, drier periods to what is already one of the driest national parks, we must build resilience into recovery from the outset. Protecting the North York Moors’ iconic landscapes, wildlife, heritage and rural communities is at the heart of this work. Good progress is being made, but it is a significant undertaking that will require sustained commitment and funding.

The North York Moors National Park Authority continues to promote responsible enjoyment of the North York Moors through its 'Share with Care' messaging, and this is particularly the case during any period of heightened fire risk - encouraging everyone who lives in or visits the National Park to play their part in safeguarding this special landscape for the future.

Further updates will be shared as restoration work continues. In the meantime, please visit the North York Moors website.

Forestry England is also progressing with high‑priority restoration of firebreaks in Sneaton Forest this year, followed by Langdale Forest next year. Work is being focused on the firebreaks that have the greatest impact on protecting waterways, maintaining soil quality, and supporting forest roads and access.

The restoration of these breaks will focus on preserving and improving their ecological value, and building future forest resilience.

Further information

The Recovery Coordination Group consists of ourselves, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, North Yorkshire Police, the North York Moors National Park Authority, Forestry England, the Ministry of Defence and other partner agencies.

Further information can be found on the following partner website pages:

• York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
• North York Moors National Park
• North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Former military training area: do not touch metal objects

The intense heat of the wildfire detonated more than 20 explosive devices on Fylingdales Moor that had previously lain dormant beneath the ground. There have been no further explosions since the major incident status was stepped down in September, however, the loss of surface peat and vegetation has exposed further historic military debris. While most of these items are harmless, there remains a serious risk that unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains present.

Disturbing the ground is extremely dangerous, please keep to the path and remain vigilant.

If you encounter a suspicious metal object:

• Do NOT touch it
• Note the exact location (preferably using What3Words)
• Report it immediately by dialling 999 and asking for the police

Government tour of the impact of the wildfire

On 5 November 2025, representatives from ourselves North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, the North York Moors National Park Authority and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority hosted a tour of the areas impacted by the fire for government officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This was a significant moment. The delegation was taken to May Beck and Woodsmith Mine, where the blaze originally jumped across the B1416.

The tour took in the very northern extremity of the fire and then travelled down the A171 to show Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government delegates the full extent of the fire area. They visited the Flask Inn and the Grouse Hill camp site, where a small number of evacuations took place during the height of the fire. They then returned to May Beck and followed the fire tracks past the Sneaton Highmoor Forest and towards Lilla Cross. This demonstrated the size and scale of the firebreaks and the environmental damage that the fire has caused to a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The scale of the geography impacted by the fire was brought home clearly to the delegation in a map which overlays the Fylingdales Moor fire extent over the area impacted by the Great Fire of London, shown below.

The tour finished at the site of the former fire incident command point and it was a valuable opportunity to visually represent the huge scale and impact of the Fylingdales Moor fire. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government delegates took many photos and videos of the areas impacted. There were helpful discussions around the risks that North Yorkshire faced, and could continue to face in the future, and discussions around how we can work with government to support the return of the firebreaks, and the communities impacted.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government representatives said afterwards that it was incredibly helpful to see and understand the huge challenges presented. We now await a response from government on our ask on behalf of North Yorkshire.