1.1 NYFRS Context, Role and Capability

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) operate across England’s largest county by area, covering approximately 8,600 square kilometres. The Service area encompasses highly diverse risk environments, including extensive rural communities, large areas of moorland and peatland, a significant stretch of coastline, and the City of York, a dense, historic urban centre with a resident population and a substantial daily influx of visitors. The North York Moors attract over nine million visitors per year.¹

Emergency response across this geography is delivered through mixed duty systems, combining wholetime, day crewed, On-call and volunteer resources, supported by specialist capabilities.

On-call firefighters and those in volunteer roles, typically have separate primary employment. They provide emergency response for NYFRS by responding from their home or workplace when alerted, alongside their main occupation. Collectively, On-call firefighters account for over half of the Service’s operational workforce and are fundamental to maintaining effective emergency response across rural and remote areas, where a wholly wholetime presence alongside maintaining effective cover across a very large geographic area.

The response to the Fylingdales Moor wildfire demonstrated both the strengths of this model; adaptability, local knowledge and workforce commitment and the pressures placed upon it during a protracted major incident.

Understanding this geographic and operational context is essential when assessing the response, ensuring that any learning reflects both operational performance and the practical realities of delivering emergency services across a large, complex and predominantly rural county that also contains distinct urban risk.

1.2 Purpose of the Debrief

This debrief provides a structured and evidence based assessment of the Fylingdales Moor wildfire, drawing on operational data, incident logs, decision records and multi-agency contributions. It brings together perspectives from across command levels and partner organisations to present a comprehensive account of the incident.

Its purpose is to capture and consolidate learning from a complex and protracted wildfire event, identifying what worked well, recognising where challenges were encountered and ensuring that key lessons are clearly articulated and evidenced.

In doing so, the debrief seeks to:

• Capture effective practice across operational, tactical and strategic levels
• Identify key learning and areas for improvement
• Inform future preparedness, planning and operational response
• Strengthen organisational and system-wide resilience to increasingly complex wildfire incidents.

The report underpins transparency and accountability, providing assurance to stakeholders, partners and the public that the response has been subject to thorough scrutiny.

1.3 Overview of the Incident

In August 2025, North Yorkshire experienced one of the largest and most complex wildfires recorded in England, affecting at its peak, approximately 25 square kilometres of moorland and forestry across Fylingdales Moor and the surrounding Langdale Forest.

Spring 2025 was officially recorded by the Met Office as the warmest and sunniest spring on record, followed by the hottest summer on record. Prolonged drought conditions resulted in critically low fuel moisture levels across heather, grass and peat, leading to a county wide hosepipe ban implemented on 11 July 2025. These factors, combined with variable and, at times, extremely strong wind conditions, created an environment highly conducive to ignition and at times rapid fire development. Despite proactive prevention measures and education, a fire started in a remote, hard-to-reach rural area and later developed with unprecedented speed and energy, due to atypical climatic, environmental and geographic conditions.

Once established, the fire spread across extensive, continuous fuel beds of heather and peat within a landscape of limited natural or constructed firebreaks. Fire behaviour was influenced by both surface fuels and deep subsurface peat, exceeding 1.5 metres in depth in some locations. This enabled sustained underground burning and, at times, unseen fire spread beneath the surface, significantly increasing the complexity of the response.

The remote nature of the incident ground, limited access routes, water availability and lengthy travel times increased the operational challenges. These factors became a challenge due to the elongated nature of the incident, requiring alternative tactical, logistical and environmental approaches throughout. Aerial support, including helicopter deployment, was used to support situational awareness and

as a fire suppression tactic across inaccessible areas, complementing ground based firefighting tactics.

The greatest challenge faced during the incident, however, was that parts of the affected moorland had previously been used as a military training area, primarily during the Second World War, with some

military activity continuing into the late 1940s and 1950s. This resulted in the presence of both exploded and unexploded ordnance (UXO) across the landscape. As the fire progressed, the heat transfer through the peat led to ‘cooking off’, exploding of the UXO, necessitating a fundamental shift towards defensive firefighting tactics. The large number of potential UXO’s across such a large area, without defined and detailed mapping, meant that typical offensive moorland firefighting tactics were not acceptable for responder safety as detailed in National Operational Guidance.

The proximity of RAF Fylingdales, a site of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and international defence, elevated the strategic importance of the incident from an early stage. This proximity directly influenced priorities, risk management decisions and the early involvement of national stakeholders.

The risk of the fire potentially spreading to RAF Fylingdales land, led to an initial make pumps 20 (fire appliances) request and the early declaration of a Major Incident.

Managing this risk required a prolonged, coordinated and adaptable multi-agency response, drawing on local, regional and national resources.

1.4 Langdale Timeline

26 June 2025 First Call

Call received into fire control room that there is a lot of smoke north of Dalby Forest. Fire crews attend.

4 July 2025 Handover

Formal handover form completed and incident is handed over to Forestry England.

11 August 2025 Fire Flare Up

Calls received to reports of a fire in the forest and moorland near RAF Fylingdales. Fire crews attend and report that the fire has breached the fire break, with approximately one to two acres of forest on fire.

13 August 2025 Major Incident Declared

Wind drives the fire towards RAF Fylingdales. A make pumps 20 message sent and assistance is requested and received from neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services. First UXOs cook offs.

14 August 2025 Fire Near Flask Inn 

Calls received by fire control room to a separate seat of fire approximately 3km away (near the Flask Inn). Fire crews attend and contain the fire

15 August 2025 SCG Held

First Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) takes place.

25 August Fire Spread

Fire progresses rapidly and travels a considerable distance in a northerly direction. It jumps significant fire breaks including the B1416.

26 August 2025 Evacuations

Evacuation of local businesses.

27 August 2025 National Assets Requested

National assets are requested by the Chief Fire Officer.

28 August 2025 National Assets Arrive 

National assets begin to arrive in North Yorkshire.

29 August 2025 Fire Contained 

The fire is contained and there has been no further spread for over 48 hours.

1 September 2025 Roads Reopen

The A171 and B1416 roads reopen with 30mph speed limits in place

4 September 2025 Containment

The fire has been contained for 8 days. Crews continue to monitor and deal with flare ups. The national assets leave over next 24 hours

5 September 2025 NYLRF Major Incident Status Ends

Major incident status for all agencies apart from NYFRS ceases.Response phase handover to the ‘recovery’ phase

19 September 2025 30mph Restrictions Lifted

30mph restriction on sections of the A171 and B1416 removed

23 September 2025 Major Incident De-escalated

The major incident status is de-escalated. Fire crews continue to monitor the area daily.

22 December 2025 Stop

No longer an active incident and NYFRS checks at the site end.

1.5 Scale and System Impact

The Fylingdales Moor wildfire was a large-scale and protracted incident requiring a coordinated, whole-system response over an extended period. The scale of activity demanded sustained multi-agency coordination, national support and significant organisational resilience.

At its peak, on the 25th-30th August the response involved the deployment of large numbers of fire appliances, specialist wildfire resources and national resilience assets. This was supported by engagement with over 30 partner agencies across local, regional and national levels, alongside specialist capabilities including wildfire Tactical Advisors and enhanced logistical support.

At the same time, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service maintained core service delivery across the county. During the main wildfire period, the Service responded to 453 additional incidents, supported by 41 regional mutual aid resources.

This dual demand placed considerable pressure on resources, command capacity and organisational resilience, flexibility across duty systems and strong regional support to maintain service continuity.

Overall, the incident highlighted the scale at which modern wildfire events can impact not only operational response, but the wider community and local resilience forum system.

1.6 Outcome

Despite the scale, duration and complexity of the incident, the overall strategic objectives were delivered, through a successful multi-agency response, which were: to prevent loss of life, serious injuries to responders or members of the public, prevent damage to property and minimise the impact on the local economy and communities. Critical national infrastructure, including RAF Fylingdales, was protected, alongside effective safeguarding of communities, property and key assets.

This assessment does not diminish the very real damage caused by the incident, nor the disruption and distress experienced by affected communities. The Service recognises the significant environmental, archaeological, economic and personal impacts of the wildfire, including harm to extensive areas of moorland, habitats and wildlife, where recovery is likely to take considerable time. It also acknowledges the impact on residents, landowners, land managers and local businesses, particularly those whose livelihoods depend on the land, with restoration and recovery forming a central focus of ongoing multi-agency efforts.