Fire at Holme Fen no longer a major incident

The incident has lasted several days

Firefighters continue to tackle a fire at Holme Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire which is still burning after starting on August 8. Whilst flames and surface smoke have decreased, the fire continues to burn up to 6 metres below the surface in the peatland. Peat is formed over thousands of years from an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation and organic matter and make firefighting particularly challenging as the peat holds the heat but may not produce flames or much smoke. Picture date: Wednesday August 19, 2026.

Author: Tom FeahenyPublished 24 hours ago

The national resilience crews have been stood down at Holme Fen.

Chief Fire Officer Matthew Warren and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Jon Anderson met the firefighters at lunchtime to thank them personally for all their hard work in supporting our response.

Matthew said: “We couldn’t have dealt with this fire and made the progress we have without the support of the national resilience and neighbouring services’ crews. Without their support over the last fortnight, we would have been left with very few crews to respond to other incidents, resulting in delayed response times, and the fire itself may have spread further into the nature reserve.

"The resilience crews are firefighters from different fire and rescue services across the country who volunteer to travel to other fire services when needed. They have been days, and for some, weeks away from home and this has been hard labour too, dirty, hot and physically draining at times, but their willingness and commitment to help has been unwavering and impressive. They have also brought their experience to the operation, advising on tactics and helping us bring this incident to a close as quickly as possible.

"We are so grateful for their support and the personal sacrifices they have made to assist us and it is with heartfelt thanks that we send them home today.

“It is also a significant milestone in the incident for us being able to stand national resilience crews down. Contractors clearing the site, working with crews to tackle any hotspots that emerge when trees are uprooted, have worked phenomenally hard over the last few days and test trenches we have dug to monitor the temperature of the peat around the perimeter of the area have shown positive temperature readings and are unearthing pools of water which is a good sign as this will prevent further spread underground. We are reducing crews at the scene down to two in the day and one at night while the clearing continues and will monitor this daily."

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