Forestry England says it is reviewing its wildfire contingency plan after documents revealed it was aware of and monitoring the fire in Langdale Forest before it spread across the moors.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s de-brief into the wildfire confirmed, already widely known locally, that the initial fire was actually reported on June 26, whereas other reports say the main fire started on August 11.
The fire service report states the June fire wasn’t fully put out due to it being hard to access on foot with limited water available, and evidence of deep-seated burning in the peat.
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (NYFRS) contained it with natural and man-made fire breaks, excavation and drainage works and formally handed the incident back to Forestry England on July 4.
On August 11 the fire jumped the fire breaks and two days later a major incident was declared.
When Forestry England was asked in September last year if it was aware of the fire before August 11, it said: “The current fire incident at Fylingdales Moor was notified to Forestry England on Monday 11th August.”
However, the de-brief report, published last week, said: “Once the fire had been assessed as contained within these established control measures, a formal external handover was completed on 4 July 2025, transferring responsibility for the incident to Forestry England.”
Following the debrief publication, The Whitby Anchor asked Forestry England again when it was first aware of a wildfire.
A spokesperson said: “There was a long time between the fires and until the FRS (fire and rescue service) formally investigated the fire, no-one knew if they were two separate fires or the same one from over a month earlier, so our statement at the time was accurate. The investigation and cause reports show the fire spread after we visited the forest on 11 August and was likely the same fire.”
They added: “The only advice given to us in the handover was to call the fire service if the fire spread beyond the firebreak. We are not trained firefighters and do not have firefighting equipment. We were not given any other advice although we agreed to keep an eye on the area.”
The 50-page de-brief set out 21 recommendations and a number of learning points to improve the fire service’s resilience and capacity to tackle wildfires, which it says are becoming “more frequent, more complex and more demanding”.
One of the points is that when a fire site is handed back to an organisation, it “should have a shared understanding of its role and responsibilities in the ongoing management of risk.”
The report has drawn attention from politicians with calls for lessons to be learned from the fires, which burned ten square miles of moorland, led to businesses being evacuated, losses of grazing land and livestock and roads being closed.
The cause of the fire is believed to be cooking using a naked flame, such as a campfire or gas burner, all of which are not allowed in forestry areas.
Forestry England added: “It is important to remember the reports also concluded that this awful fire was caused by someone having a BBQ or campfire that are not allowed in the forest.
“We are: revising our wildfire contingency plan in Yorkshire, including updating the map that shows assets that will support the FRS to respond to wildfires such as water supplies; updating staff training in wildfire incident management, including the specific role of liaising with the FRS and building a closer relationship with FRS and the Local Resilience Forum.”
