(CNN) – Firefighters have contained a blaze that erupted on moorland in West Yorkshire in northern England, one of the three wildfires that broke out across the United Kingdom as temperatures hit record seasonal highs.
@BBCLookNorth devastating for the moors and it’s wildlife! Hope it’s soon out, this part of the moor is only just recovering from the last major fire! Massive well done to all the emergency services working hard to try and get this under control @wyfrs pic.twitter.com/AJljnhb7Pw
— Clive Pearson (@pearsonfunerals) February 26, 2019
The fire, on Saddleworth Moor, burned throughout Tuesday night across about 1.5 square kilometers (370 acres) near the village of Marsden. Orange fire-line streaks and haze illuminated the dark sky.
“The fire now looks to be out,” the fire service’s official Twitter account tweeted Wednesday morning, adding that “5 pumps and 2 wildfire units are still at the scene and will remain there for much of the day to tackle any further hot spots.”
@BBCRadioManc Huge moorland fire above saddleworth@@SaddleworthFm pic.twitter.com/MXdLONVH7M
— Chris Kearns (@chriskearns12) February 26, 2019
Other fires broke out in Edinburgh, on the city’s famed Arthur’s Seat hill, and in the southern English county of West Sussex, in woodland immortalized by A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories.
The West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service blamed the “unusual warm weather this week in Sussex.”
Warmest winter day recorded
Temperatures in parts of the UK reached 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) for “the first time in winter on record,” Britain’s national weather service, the Met Office, told CNN.
Saddleworth Moors on fire again tonight. I've managed to capture some footage on the drone.#Saddleworth #moors #fire @Examiner @MENnewsdesk @itvcalendar @itvnew @BBCLookNorth pic.twitter.com/Tqsxa8tAhS
— Kyle Bottomley (@gamer_Kyle_b_92) February 27, 2019
A countrywide record for the warmest winter day was set Tuesday for the second day in a row, with Kew Gardens in London hitting 21.2 degrees Celsius (70.16 degrees Fahrenheit), the Met Office tweeted.
The average temperature in February is between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius (42.8 and 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the Met Office.
Source: CNN