Appeal as major nature reserve fire crews tackled for five days close to Peterborough started deliberately
Fire service crews who have been tackling a fire at a nature reserve close to Peterborough for the last five days have declared the blaze to have been caused deliberately.
At just after 3:20pm on Monday (July 27), crews were called to Holme Fen in Holme to a well-developed fire in a wooded area.
More than 40 firefighters, including crews from Stanground, Chatteris, Dogsthorpe, Whittlesey, Huntingdon, Thorney and Manea, along with a specialist 4x4 vehicle from Thorney, the water carrier from Ramsey and a crew from Oundle in Northamptonshire, attended the incident.
Crews have returned to the scene each day since to check for hotspots and get a control of the deep seated fire in the peat, which has been taking some time to extinguish.
Crews were finally able to leave the scene on Friday morning (July 31).
An appeal has now been issued, however, with the cause of the fire now believed to be deliberate.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate and has been handed over to the police for further investigation.
"Anyone with information should contact police by visiting www.cambs.police.uk to submit an online report or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”