The Moorland fire outside Manchester must be pretty horrific. I can only imagine how bad the air quality is in the surrounding areas. The smell in the air in Onchan/Douglas on the east coast of the Island is pretty acrid this morning and like it was all day yesterday, a horrible pungent burning smell. I'm amazed it's reaching this far with the low breeze and still air.

They've just drafted in 100 squaddies to help.
Having spent many hours putting out moorland fires I can tell you it is so draining. Undulating land, walking over Turks Heads, usually a hot day plus the heat of the fire, the actual task of beating out a fire is physical work and your hands are full so you can’t carry water for yourself.
Because they are mainly peat moors, around the North, they burn underground so they are always ready to re-ignite.
Good luck to all the lads and lasses out there.

Been bad for days as reported on the national news, sounds very nasty for the people affected.

Firthy wrote:The smell in the air in Onchan/Douglas on the east coast of the Island is pretty acrid this morning and like it was all day yesterday, a horrible pungent burning smell.

That's par for the course in Onchan/Douglas though.
Ramsey, of course, remains bad odour and smoke free.

CJW wrote:That's par for the course in Onchan/Douglas though.
Ramsey, of course, remains bad odour and smoke free.

Guess Ramsey has to have something going for it

Could see the mushroom cloud from Black Hill this lunchtime. By the time I got to Noggarth it was a 30 mile plume. Looked like the fire was out. My mother said as children they set fire to moorland and it was called 'swithering.'

Why do they use beaters on a peat fire, surely the peat is burning underneath!!

Was looking at the smoke from the Nick of Pendle earlier this afternoon.

Pstotto wrote:Could see the mushroom cloud from Black Hill this lunchtime. By the time I got to Noggarth it was a 30 mile plume. Looked like the fire was out. My mother said as children they set fire to moorland and it was called 'swithering.'

Farmers deliberately burning off was swealing around us.

JohnMac wrote:

20180628_124245.jpg

Looked like the new fire Bolton way to me, from the Nick it was to the right of Winter Hill transmitter.
Was called sniggling when/where I was a kid.

I was up Dartmoor yesterday and things are pretty green at the moment and long may it continue in all other country areas.

yorkyclaret wrote:Looked like the new fire Bolton way to me, from the Nick it was to the right of Winter Hill transmitter.
Was called sniggling when/where I was a kid.

I should have took a compass The smoke originated from the extreme left of the picture which is roughly the direction of Oldham but only my assumption. Wherever it is let's just hope it gets sorted as quickly as possible with no loss of life. There has been little mention as yet of the impact on wildlife which will be significant.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-14842549" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or we could have fires like they have in Portugal where last year there was a fire across 50,000 hectares 40 degree temperature, 1700 fireman involved and 66 people died.