Home / Disasters and Accidents / Holme Fen Wildfire Cost Tops £750K
Holme Fen Wildfire Cost Tops £750K
18 Oct
Summary
- Holme Fen wildfire cost is projected to exceed £750,000.
- Over a month and 31 days, firefighters battled the blaze.
- Deep peat soil at Holme Fen presented significant challenges.
The financial impact of the major wildfire at Holme Fen is projected to exceed £750,000. This figure was revealed in board papers for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority.
Crews spent a full month, 31 days, tackling the extensive woodland and peatland fire. The incident, which began on August 8 at the nature reserve south of Peterborough, saw approximately 100 firefighters deployed at its peak.
The deep peat soil at Holme Fen posed considerable difficulties for extinguishment efforts. Peat fires are known to spread underground, making them hard to fully put out and detect.
While £336,000 has been spent to date, this does not include all outstanding third-party support costs. The fire service anticipates reclaiming the total expense through a government wildfire grant. Parts of Holme Fen managed by Natural England remain closed for ongoing clearance work.
