The incident reinforced the importance of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Wildfires Position Statement, which identifies wildfires as a growing national resilience risk and emphasises land management, fuel reduction, partnership working and shared responsibility as critical to prevention, preparedness, response and long-term resilience. It also highlights that wildfire risk cannot be addressed by Fire and Rescue Services alone, requiring coordinated action from landowners, land managers, environmental agencies, infrastructure operators and wider resilience partners.

The incident demonstrated the significant influence of infrastructure, assets and operational activities across the landscape, including those of DEFRA, water companies, renewable energy providers, utility organisations and other rural stakeholders. While roles differ, collective engagement proved valuable in strengthening resilience, improving situational awareness and supporting multi-agency learning. There is ongoing opportunity to enhance collaboration in areas such as access, water availability, environmental considerations, infrastructure resilience and information sharing.

Fire behaviour during the incident was strongly influenced by extensive, continuous heather and grass fuels, particularly under prolonged dry and windy conditions. This continuity contributed to rapid fire spread, high-intensity and complex containment challenges. In line with the NFCC position statement, the incident highlighted how vegetation management, fuel loading and landscape design directly affect wildfire risk and operational tactics, including the effectiveness of control lines and opportunities to slow fire progression.

Limited natural or pre-existing fuel breaks reduced containment options, requiring crews to create intervention opportunities through direct firefighting, surface scraping, targeted suppression and the establishment of control lines where possible to disrupt fuel continuity and support containment.

The incident also reinforced the important role of landowners and land managers in contributing to wildfire resilience. Consistent with NFCC guidance, this responsibility is shared and should be proportionate and risk based. It does not require wholesale vegetation removal, but includes maintaining awareness of wildfire risk, engaging with fire and rescue services, considering fuel loading and vegetation continuity, maintaining access where practicable, understanding water availability, supporting control features, reporting emerging incidents and contributing to planning and operational activity through local knowledge.

NYFRS retains its statutory and moral responsibility to deliver prevention and risk reduction activity. However, the scale and complexity of wildfire risk requires this to be supported through partnership working, early engagement, shared situational awareness and joint planning with landowners, environmental agencies and resilience partners.

The incident highlighted the benefits of strengthened collaboration across fire and rescue services, land managers and Local Resilience Forum partners. Sharing operational learning on fuel load, vegetation management, terrain, access, water supply and control line effectiveness will support improved preparedness and response.

Learning should inform the continued development of risk-informed wildfire planning across North Yorkshire, including greater NYFRS involvement in identifying high-risk areas, pre-incident planning and providing operational insight into land management and fuel reduction. This aligns with the NFCC position that effective wildfire mitigation depends on shared responsibility, multi-agency collaboration and a stronger focus on land management within long-term resilience planning.

What Worked Well

• Adapted effectively to differing fuel risks, managing both surface and subsurface fire behaviour
• Used targeted tactics to create windows of opportunity and establish control lines
• Maintained operational flexibility, adjusting approach as fire behaviour changed
• Demonstrated strong situational awareness, using terrain, fuel and fire behaviour to inform decisions
• Worked closely with partners and landowners to improve access, share knowledge and support control measures.

Learning Opportunities

• Strengthen consideration of fuel continuity and load within assumptions pre-incident planning and risk assessments
• Build on the existing Fire Operations Group (FOG) concept to strengthen wildfire pre-planning, bringing together partners to develop a coordinated multi-agency approach that aligns operational preparedness with land management and vegetation risk
• Incorporation into LRF planning: Ensure fuel-related risks and land management factors are strengthened within Local Resilience Forum risk assessments and multi-agency planning.