Police identify two men in connection with Darwen Moor wildfires

Two men have been identified by police in relation to the wildfires on Darwen Moor.
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Yesterday (May 31), LFRS assistant chief fire officer Ben Norman had confirmed that the fire had been accidentally caused by a disposable BBQ.

The fire chief described the accident as 'hugely unhelpful', 'wholly avoidable' and 'careless'.

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He said a man had called 999 and self-reported the fire after it spread rapidly on dry grass at around 7pm on Saturday.

The LFRS Burn team from Bacup have been creating lines of manageable fires on Darwen Moor to help control the wildfire and lead it away from the 'control line'The LFRS Burn team from Bacup have been creating lines of manageable fires on Darwen Moor to help control the wildfire and lead it away from the 'control line'
The LFRS Burn team from Bacup have been creating lines of manageable fires on Darwen Moor to help control the wildfire and lead it away from the 'control line'

This morning (June 1), Lancashire Police has confirmed that officers visited the scene and identified two men in connection the incident.

No arrests have been made at this stage.

A police spokesman said: "We were called at around 7pm on Saturday (May 30) to reports of a large fire close to Duckshaw Road in Darwen.

"Officers attended and two men, both in their 20s, were identified. They will be spoken with at a later date."

Controlled burning can be managed to help reduce the intensity and magnitude of bigger wildfires by reducing the accumulation of flammable fuelsControlled burning can be managed to help reduce the intensity and magnitude of bigger wildfires by reducing the accumulation of flammable fuels
Controlled burning can be managed to help reduce the intensity and magnitude of bigger wildfires by reducing the accumulation of flammable fuels
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Firefighting resumes at first light at Longridge Fell and Darwen Moor
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New footage filmed by the LFRS burn team from Bacup shows the ferocity of the fire which has raged for nearly 48 hours.

The team were deployed onto Darwen Moor in the evening of May 31, around 24 hours after the fire first broke out.

The Burn team has been burning the ground to create a fire break to stop the fire spreading further.

A spokesman for LFRS said: "The burn team are using fire to help put in control lines, managing a burn that would take away fuel from the fire burning up towards the control line.

"This burning back into the fire is best carried out at night when the higher humidity allows for a lower fire intensity assisting the team in controlling the burn."

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