Winter Hill: Crews battle ‘aggressive’ merged moorland fire
Media playback is unsupported on your deviceDozens of fire crews are continuing to battle "a rapidly developing and aggressive fire" on moorland across Lancashire.
Two large fires merged because of increasing wind speed and a major incident was declared on Saturday.
Police told pedestrians and motorists to stay away from the scene at Winter Hill and Scout Road near Bolton
Crews worked through the night and the fire service said "full fire-fighting operations" resumed at 04:30 BST.
It comes as crews from around the country have joined firefighters and the Army to deal with a separate fire at Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester, which started a week ago.
Along with the Winter Hill and Scout Road blazes, it has blanketed the region in smoke and ash. People in nearby areas have been asked to keep doors and windows closed.
'Exceptionally challenging'
The Winter Hill blaze, which started on Thursday near a major TV transmitter, is smouldering across a 1.9 sq miles (5 sq km) area.
A 22-year-old man, from Bolton, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
Lancashire fire service area manager Tony Cook said "very intensive fire-fighting" was taking place at the scene.
He said crews were doing shuttle runs in appliances to get water to the flames while others manually try to beat the fire out.
Fire break trenches are also being dug to try to protect local buildings and a helicopter has been dropping water to help douse the flames.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said on Saturday it had 28 fire engines tackling the moorland fires.
There were approximately 120 personnel on the moors, split between seven areas of wildfire in Tameside and Winter Hill.
Assistant chief fire officer Dave Keelan said: "This is an exceptionally challenging time and I am proud of the hard work and brave commitment of our firefighters."
About 100 soldiers from the 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, were sent from their Yorkshire barracks on Thursday to aid firefighters in Saddleworth for an initial 48-hour deployment.
Their presence has been extended until Monday afternoon following a request by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
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