Greater Manchester area fire rages on, army deployed

Soldiers have been deployed to help the Manchester fire brigade tackle the blaze that’s been raging over Saddleworth Moor in north west England since Sunday evening.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">📸👨‍🚒 A round up of some shots taken from the scene this evening. Our crews will continue to tackle multiple moorland fires overnight.<br><br>👏🙌 A huge thanks to everyone involved at the scene today and for your phenomenal support - it doesn&#39;t go unnoticed! 🙂 <a href="https://t.co/e3Dx3qBy6n">pic.twitter.com/e3Dx3qBy6n</a></p>&mdash; Manchester Fire (@manchesterfire) <a href="https://twitter.com/manchesterfire/status/1012070899036622848?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">June 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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British army troops will operate high-volume pumps and help move firefighters across the moor, said Greater Manchester assistant chief fire officer Dave Keelan.

An RAF helicopter was also deployed to assist the firefighters on Thursday.

The fire was declared a “major incident” by Greater Manchester Police.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The moorland fires have now been declared a major incident. <br><br>Any updates will come from <a href="https://twitter.com/gmpolice?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@gmpolice</a> as we support our Fire colleagues as they continue to keep us safe.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Moorlandfires?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#Moorlandfires</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/staysafe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#staysafe</a></p>&mdash; G M Police (@gmpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/gmpolice/status/1011745930884927488?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">June 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Derbyshire Fire and Rescue’s Bob Curry said the fires were “some of the most challenging” the service had tackled in recent years.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today the fight to extinguish one of the most challenging Wildfires of recent years continues. The Fire Front is a mile long making our day at work challenging to say the least!  The Publics support and kindness is staggering - “thank you” doesn’t seem enough. Stay Safe👨🏼‍🚒 <a href="https://t.co/z8SswjAIKP">pic.twitter.com/z8SswjAIKP</a></p>&mdash; Bob Curry (@bob_rcurry) <a href="https://twitter.com/bob_rcurry/status/1012006353257271297?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">June 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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More than 30 homes were evacuated but people were allowed back in their homes on Wednesday and told to stay inside.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Important health messages for anyone affected by the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/moorlandfire?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#moorlandfire</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/manchesterfire?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">@manchesterfire</a> <a href="https://t.co/3usdiZao5A">pic.twitter.com/3usdiZao5A</a></p>&mdash; PHE North West (@PHE_NorthWest) <a href="https://twitter.com/PHE_NorthWest/status/1011571583280873473?ref_src=twsrc^tfw">June 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"There's still a lot of smoke from the fire but air quality levels are being monitored regularly in different locations. Air quality is currently at a safe level and therefore residents have been let back into their homes," Keelan said.

Local MP Jonathan Reynolds tweeted saying the fire was “genuinely frightening” and sent well wishes to those who were evacuated from their homes. Reynolds was quoted on TalkRadio as saying the fires were the “worst in living memory.”

Like the rest of the UK, the area has experienced hot weather in recent days and forecasters expect temperatures to remain high for the rest of the week.

The cause of the blaze has yet to be determined.

SOURCE: euronews
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