West Yorkshire firefighters urge moorland visitors to call 999 to report barbecues

Firefighters are urging visitors to Yorkshire's moorland to call 999 if they see people using barbecues.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had dealt with twice as many wildfires in the first seven months of this year compared with the whole of 2021. Bosses are concerned about the increased risk of further incidents as the region experiences another heatwave.

The brigade tweeted: "If you see somebody BBQ-ing on the moorland, call 999 and ask for fire."

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for some parts of the country, including parts of Yorkshire, for the next four days. Temperatures could exceed 30C over the weekend.

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The fire service's latest warning comes after a series of devastating fires on the county's moorland in recent years.

In April 2019 a blaze damaged around 700 hectares of land at Marsden Moor, above Huddersfield, and took four days to put out. Two years later, another large fire was started by a man lighting a firework.

Last month wildfires caused devastation in South Yorkshire, destroying a number of homes in the Barnsley and Rotherham areas. It prompted the emergency services to declare a major incident as resources were stretched to the limit.

Deputy chief fire officer Dave Walton said: "Once a wildfire starts, with the best will in world, it won’t stop and will take hold faster than people can run.

"While we might not see a return of the peaks of previous heatwave, we are expecting some quite high temperatures over a sustained period. The current dry conditions and the ground heat as a result, make it the perfect conditions once again for wildfires to erupt.

"The longer the hot weather and dry conditions run, coupled with low humidity rates, this really raises the risks for wildfire. This is exactly what happens on the continent and so we need to all play our part over the next few days to prevent fires taking hold."

Residents are being told not to use disposable barbecues on public land or start fires in their gardens. Mr Walton added: "The fields, crops and grasslands are still tinderbox dry and will go up with little aggravation. A hot barbecue on the ground can start a fire on its own as can a carelessly thrown cigarette or broken glass."

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