Lyme Park reopens to the public following large moorland blaze
The fire in the grounds of Lyme Park broke out on Thursday afternoon, affecting approximately two square kilometres of moorland south of Knightslow woods.
Firefighters from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Derbyshire battled for several hours to bring it under control, using hoses, water backpacks and beaters, together with specialist moorland firefighting equipment.
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Hide AdThere is no damage to the house or gardens, or reports of injuries to people, deer or cattle on the 1,400 acre site.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service said late on Thursday evening: "The fire is now under control and the incident has been scaled back to four fire engines.
"The area will be monitored overnight by firefighters with hose reel jets and beaters to ensure that the fire does not flare up again."
A spokesperson for the National Trust site confirmed on Friday morning that Lyme’s house, gardens and park were back open to the public, and that its Easter activities were going ahead as planned.
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Hide AdEleanor Underhill, Assistant Director for the National Trust in the North West, said: "We would like to thank Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service for working so quickly together with our team of staff and volunteers.
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Hide Ad"They have worked tirelessly to contain and extinguish the fire."
National Trust staff, volunteers and partner organisations will now begin assessing the impact of the damage and take steps to help the landscape and wildlife to recover.
Visitors to the park are also being reminded to follow the countryside code to help prevent any fire risk. Simple measures include ensuring they take home any litter, making sure any lit cigarettes are properly extinguished and disposed of responsibly and to never light fires - barbecues are not permitted at Lyme.
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Hide AdDeborah Maxwell, General Manager at Lyme, added: "We are so grateful for all of the messages of support.
"The area affected was primarily moorland. Dry and hot weather makes the moors more combustible. If it’s windy, it can spread very quickly.
"The National Trust has been working proactively for many years to reduce wildfire risk through restoring the moorlands and monitoring for signs of fire in hot weather."