North Yorkshire visitors warned over moorland fire risks

By Hiyastar UK News Desk

Visitors, drivers and campers in the North York Moors are being urged to cut out simple fire risks after the Langdale Forest and Fylingdales Moor wildfire became the biggest recorded wildfire in the history of the North York Moors National Park.

The fire was declared a major incident on 12 August 2025. North Yorkshire Council says the warning is now focused on prevention: a cigarette end, a discarded bottle, a barbecue or a campfire can be enough to ignite dry vegetation and put moorland, farms, wildlife and public access at risk.

The North York Moors National Park has launched the Don’t Spark Disaster campaign to reduce the chance of another large wildfire across the county.

Small actions that can start a moorland fire

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service receives many call-outs each year to fires across the national park. Some are brought under control quickly, but others can take days to extinguish, especially when flames spread across open moorland, forest edges or remote tracks.

The prevention advice is aimed at ordinary behaviour that may seem harmless at the time. A cigarette thrown from a car window can land in roadside grass. A match dropped on a path can stay hot long enough to catch dry material. Glass bottles and reflective litter can focus sunlight and ignite vegetation when conditions are dry.

Barbecues, disposable barbecues, gas cooking equipment and campfires are also singled out because heat can transfer into peat, grass or heather even after flames appear to be out. On moorland, fire can travel below the surface and reappear away from the original spot.

What visitors and drivers should do now

Anyone travelling through or spending time in the North York Moors should treat fire prevention as part of the visit, not an optional extra.

Useful details:

• Do not discard cigarettes or matches anywhere, including from vehicles.
• Take glass bottles and reflective litter home or place them in proper waste points.
• Avoid barbecues, disposable barbecues and campfires on moorland, forest paths and dry grass.
• Check any permitted cooking equipment is cold before leaving an area.
• Report signs of fire quickly and give the most precise location possible.

Drivers have a role because roads through the national park pass close to grass, heather and woodland. A small item dropped from a moving vehicle can land outside the driver’s view and begin burning before anyone nearby notices smoke.

Why the Fylingdales Moor fire changed the warning

The Langdale Forest and Fylingdales Moor wildfire showed how costly a single incident can become. North Yorkshire Council described it as a major incident and said it became the largest wildfire in the national park’s history.

The damage from such fires is not only financial. Moorland fires can destroy habitats, kill wildlife, expose archaeological features to heat and erosion, disrupt farming, close paths and roads, and keep residents and visitors away from areas they normally use.

The North York Moors is also difficult terrain for emergency crews. Fires can spread across open land where access is limited, water may be hard to move, and changing wind can push flames towards new areas. That is why prevention is being placed in the hands of visitors as well as land managers and emergency services.

A campaign built around preventable risks

The Don’t Spark Disaster campaign is built on a simple message: many wildfire triggers are avoidable. It asks people to think about the object or heat source they leave behind and the conditions around it.

Dry vegetation, wind, peat, heather and woodland edges can turn a small spark into a wider incident. The warning is not limited to summer visitors. Periods of dry weather can raise risk at different points of the year, and litter or abandoned fire remains can stay in the landscape.

For local communities, prevention protects more than scenery. It protects farms, access routes, tourism businesses, emergency service capacity and the long recovery work needed after a burned landscape is made safe again.

Where the warning applies

The advice applies across the North York Moors National Park, including areas around Langdale Forest and Fylingdales Moor, and to roads, paths, lay-bys and visitor spots where small sparks or litter could reach dry vegetation.

North Yorkshire Council says people can find more information through the North York Moors National Park’s fire recovery and ongoing work updates.

Source: North Yorkshire Council