WEST Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has said crews across the county are currently dealing with an “unprecedented” number of grass fires.

Since Thursday last week, firefighters have attended 678 incidents in total, of which 438 were fires in the open, largely grass and rubbish fires.

Specialist wildfire units are also still helping to tackle the major fire on Saddleworth Moor, and the brigade has said the continued baking hot weather has led to conditions where the prospect of a similar incident happening locally is “not unimaginable”.

Chris Kirby, WYFRS area manager for service delivery said: “We have all seen the destructive nature of wildfires from the images of Saddleworth Moor and we do not want to see something of that scale happening in West Yorkshire. Right now that is not unimaginable.

“We have now had such a long period of sustained sunshine that the vegetation is tinder dry and will burn very rapidly should it come into contact with a heat source such as, for example, a barbecue.

“Fires like these are not only labour intensive to fight but they also have the potential to spread and pose a risk to property and people.

“The fire severity index is an assessment of how severe a fire could become if one were to start. This is currently mapped at ‘very high’ for England and Wales.

“We cannot stress our fire warning strongly enough and we do need the general public to be more vigilant and take extra care when enjoying the moorlands or in the countryside. Small embers or sparks from barbecues, or even carelessly discarded cigarettes, can be all it takes to start a small fire which can very quickly become a large fire and the consequences could be devastating.”

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Earlier today, crews were called to a large blaze on a grass bank in Baildon, with an area of grass approximately 300 metres by 20 metres alight. It is thought the fire started in the garden of a residential property on Bank Walk before spreading to the steep grassed area.

Last week, WYFRS issued a warning after a disposable barbecue that was put in a bin caused a serious house fire that destroyed a property in Holme Wood, Bradford.

But today, crews from Cleckheaton said a family had a “lucky escape” after a still-smouldering barbecue set fire to a fence at a house in Smithy Court, Scholes.

A spokesperson said: “A barbecue had been left on some decking and a neighbour woke up and saw their fence on fire. People need to make sure if they have a barbecue that it is fully out before leaving it, and if they are unsure to pour water on it, because they can keep burning for a long time. They should also make sure they are out before leaving them next to anything combustible.”

In another major incident, crews from Bradford joined firefighters from Silsden, Skipton, Grassington, and Settle to help control a fire that had broken out in Rackhams - House of Fraser, in High Street, Skipton, just after 10.15pm on Sunday.