FIREFIGHTERS have spoken of the dangers faced during a series of moor fires over Easter.

At a meeting of West Yorkshire Fire Authority's Community Safety Committee yesterday members were given a presentation on the fires that ravaged Ilkley Moor and Marsden Moor over the Easter weekend.

The fire on Ilkley Moor started just after 3pm on April 20 - Easter Saturday, and at its height 15 engines were at the scene dealing with the large blaze.

The report says the fire was so deep into the moor that it was "not able to be extinguished until Firefighters were able to get right on top of it and drive firefighting jets deep in to the ground."

As well as crews from West Yorkshire, 10 engines from five different forces - Tyne and Wear, Cumbria, Merseyside, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire were called to support. 

One firefighter from Merseyside suffered burns during the incident.

Crews remained at the scene for four days.

On April 21, while crews were still at the scene in Ilkley, there were reports of a moor fire in Marsden.

At its height an area measuring 5km by 5km was ablaze, and 15 engines were called to deal with the fire. Firefighters were at that scene for over a week.

On April 23, while the service was dealing with both fires, crews had to respond to a fire on a neighbouring part of the moor adjacent to Owlers End Farm on Binn Lane in Marsden.

Although that blaze was not as large, 11 crews were required to tackle it.

Area Manager Jim Butters said the three incidents amounted to the "perfect storm" and left the fire service hugely stretched.

It required a large amount of specialist equipment, and for firefighters to traverse steep, rocky terrain in order to reach the fire.

A review into how the service deals with moor fires is underway, including what type of fire kit firefighters carry when they attend such blazes.